Dr. Ellis Passes Away At 80

Be loved Pushmataha County Resident, Doctor and Friend, Edwin French Ellis M.D., passed from this life on February 23, 2023 in his hometown of Antlers.

He was born March 12, 1942 in Long Beach, CA., to Laura Spence French Ellis and James Harley Ellis. An Okie from Muskogee, class of 1960, a Rougher to be exact. He was a member of the Rougher HS tennis team, Rougher Debate team, WINNER of a High School National Debate Competition in Houston, TX.

Dr. Ellis was an OU Sooner for undergraduate studies and then attended OU College of Medicine. He did a two year pediatric residency at Parkland Hospital and Children’s Hospital in Dallas, Texas. His general practice internship was in Wichita, Kansas at St. Joseph Hospital. He is Board Certified in pediatrics and a Fellow of the Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Ellis was also a former Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics for the OU Medical School where he gave lectures to medical students twice a month on Fridays over pediatrics and rural medicine for over a decade in the 70s and 80s.

In 1967 Dr. Ellis won the State Table Tennis Championships in Singles and Doubles. He later became certified as a Table Tennis coach and an Internationally Certified Table Tennis Umpire through the ITTF. Also notable are his intramural achievements of a 1st place trophy in OU intramural Table Tennis, and a 3rd place trophy in OU intramural Tennis.

In 1970, Dr. Ellis joined the United States Army and served his time at Fort Polk, Louisiana as a pediatrician. He earned the Medal for Expert Marksmanship and left the Army as a Major in the Medical Corp. During this time he met his partner, Dr. Herbert Rowland, who recruited him to join the medical clinic in Antlers. Tournament level chess playing was another passion of Dr. Ellis’. He had an impressive 1200 rating.

For over 50 years, Dr. Ellis has been a Shriner. He is a 32nd degree Mason. Dr. Ellis is also an avid pilot. He is a certified flight instructor, Instrument Flight Instructor and a Flight Instructors’ Instructor. He has multiple ratings including sea plane rating, and had an air charter service here for a number of years. He was the first to build a hangar and provide duel service for the Antlers Municipal Airport and has spurred on numerous improvements to the airport over the past 5 decades. He has instructed approximately 20 student pilots as they worked toward various beginner and advanced ratings. As a flight physician, he also provided the service of flight physical exams. He provided ~200 physicals a year, for pilots of both private and professional levels, who would fly into the airport for their physical at his landmark Aviator’s Relief home office.

In 2017 the Antlers airfield name was officially changed to The Dr. Edwin F Ellis Airfield in his honor.