Edward Charles Ellenz

Edward Charles Ellenz passed away quietly on Tues, March 1st, 2022. He was born April 15, 1938 to Edward and Ruth Ellenz. He was preceded in death by his wonderful sister Connie and his beautiful daughter Kami. He is now able to hug them both once again. Dad is survived by his wife Shirley of nearly 60 years, by his brother Ken, his son Kent and his wife Becky, his beloved granddaughters Ashley and Kelsey, and nephews Seth, Kyle, Shawn and Aaron. He graduated from Gonzaga Prep in Spokane. He also served briefly in the Air Reserve and hated the humid heat of Texas boot camp about as much as he hated being told what to do on a daily basis. Not surprisingly, a military career was not in the cards for dad. As a young man, dad was a classic “rebel”. He became somewhat feared in Spokane’s stock car racing circle, winning many races - while setting local speed records. Then, obviously taking that car out and wrecking it so that he and his brother could build a new one for the next race. Dad worked initially at Becker Buick for a number of years as, what he called a “grease monkey”. Accordingly, our family vacations were always by car, in what I would now describe as Buick’s version of the “Family Truckster” - A gigantic, old-school station wagon. Kami and I seemingly had acres of space to jump around in - while dad drove - he loved to drive. To say dad was a sports fan is a massive understatement. He and mom cumulatively spent months of their lives driving me to play in Spokane Americans youth hockey games across British Columbia, Canada over a ten-year period. Mom and dad worked tirelessly on the Spokane Americans Youth Hockey Board over these years as well. This is where dad got his first taste of negotiation and agitation. He loved WSU Football, EWU Football, Gonzaga Basketball, Whitworth Football and Mariners Baseball. I learned later, when others weren’t available to go with him, that he, many times, would go to an event and watch alone. Dad played several years on local softball teams. As I recall, most of this time was spent on teams with much younger guys. Dad was just that good. He had speed and a cannon arm. When I played catch with him, I was always sort of afraid, hoping he would not rifle one at me. His true sports love though, was baseball. He coached our Little League baseball team, Black’s Flames for a number of years. We were centered in the Logan neighborhood and our team was not well liked by the others that we played. Dad was our protector, motivator, and a stunning master agitator/intimidator. Many times, it seemed like we had the game won before we stepped on the field. He loved his team and he made sure other teams knew it. Later in life dad worked, and retired from Spokane County’s Road Dept. As a kid, I thought it was so cool that everyone he worked with had a nickname. His true calling though, came when he was elected Union President. His nickname became “King” and his sole purpose in life became “How can I agitate management today?”. Defending his union members against any and all management accusations was what he loved most. I remember many nights watching him fill up memo pads with sentence after sentence in defense of one of his union members. It was almost manic, but it was very peaceful and stern. I loved dad’s amazing strength that he had for his co-workers. Finally, contract negotiations with management was the icing on his union cake. His ability to agitate while he negotiated became legend. Dad so loved the daily opportunity to be a pain in so many people's a**es. Dad’s funeral service will be held Saturday, March 12, 2022 at 2:00 PM at Riplinger’s Funeral Home, 4305 N Division St., Spokane, WA 99207. We all miss him so, but are somewhat comforted knowing that he is now with Kami and Connie. I suspect that he has already given a nickname to his new crew.