Andrew C. Ellett

Andrew C. Ellett, 70, of Forest, was promoted on Monday, December 9, 2019.

Andy wanders into the Great Unknown preceded by his parents, Lester Earle Ellett and Mary Spence Ellett, his son, Andrew “Drew” Scott Ellett, an infant daughter, and his brother, Lester “Mike” Earle Ellett, Jr.

Left behind to carry on the party are his daughters, Victoria Ellett, Jana Dalton, Renee Monark and her husband Michael, and Michelle Ellett; his sisters, Sybil Kesterson and her husband, Ernest, and Mary Lucas and her husband, Jay; former spouses Frankie Dalton and Liz Ellett; close friends and basically family members, Shelley Lenhart and her husband, Joe, and Bernadette Ellis; his two four-legged boys, Bailey and Blinkyn; as well as an exorbitant amount of other family members, friends, bar buddies, and colleagues.

Andy was born on February 11, 1949. When he was a young man, he joined the U.S. Army and served during the Vietnam War. He worked with his brother and father for a while at the newsstand that his dad owned until he was later disabled in a car accident. He then devoted his life to being the best friend and father that he knew how to be.

Hi there, this is Victoria typing this, his youngest daughter. That paragraph above contains just about all the facts I know about my Dad’s life. However, his accomplishments aren’t professional in nature and can’t be listed like the accolades of an established doctor. Instead, my dad’s biggest achievements were more personal. I can’t speak for all of my family’s experiences with him, and I’m not going to try. Instead, I’m going to try and tell you what he meant to me.

My Dad was a bigger-than-life, gregarious, loud, and loving man. He loved to pick on everybody, and respected you more if you could throw the insults back at him. When I was a kid, he called me “Muffie” and “Spike”, and I used to cuddle with him on the couch and watch Captain Jean-Luc Picard explore the galaxy. He helped me learn how to ride a bike, and when he was working around the house, he would teach me how to use the different tools (including the electric drill, omg). My Daddy loved to fish and be out on the water, he loved the beach and being near the water. He was a wonderful cook, but he still had all the recipes in his head from when he was in the service, so there was always way, way, way too much food! He took us on trips, made sure there was food in our bellies, and spoiled us rotten in every way he could. When I was little, I found a baby rabbit in the yard, and he helped me nurse it back to health. To say my Dad loved animals is an understatement. He’s had aquariums, turtles, ferrets, cats, gerbils, hamsters, and he loved his little Maltese fluff-balls. My Dad loved to go antiquing and find rare treasures, recently he actually brought home a very old harmonium just because he thought it looked neat and reminded him of someone. He loved to travel, especially to the beach, the Outer Banks and the Bahamas being his favorite.

Daddy made me the woman I am today, and it’s obvious where I get my love of animals, cooking, sci-fi and horror. But besides everything he did for me, I know he was there for others. He opened his home when people had no where else to go, he was always there if you needed a little bit of money to get you over the hump, even though he didn’t have much to give. There were always goodies and candy at his house for everyone, even for the dogs that visited, and he even went out and bought everyone’s favorite things so they would be there at his house whenever his friends decided to visit again. My Daddy never met a stranger, and I know there are a bunch of you you out there that have shared plenty of laughs and crude jokes over pitchers of beer with my Dad.

My Daddy was loud, rude, crass, he swore, he smoked, and he was the self-proclaimed President, Chairman, and C.E.O. of the A-**** Association of the Universe. He was also kind, gentle, and loving with a warm heart. He meant something different to everyone that met him, so I can’t speak for all of you, but I know that I loved my Daddy and I know he loved me and everyone reading this now with tears in their eyes. I miss you, Not the Momma, my Dad, my protector. We’ll see each other again one day at the beach.

A Celebration of Andy’s Antics will be announced at a later date on the Tharp website.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be given towards Andy’s funeral expenses in C/O Victoria Ellett or Tharp Funeral Home. Natty Light and smokes also accepted.

Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory, Lynchburg is assisting the family.