Mont R. Ellett

Our loving dad, Mont R. Ellett, took his final journey on October 26, 2020 surrounded by his family, at his home in South Jordan, Utah. Dad was born to Almon Clifford Ellett and Venettia Rasmussen on August 27, 1927 in Bicknell Utah. His father died when he was 4 months old but his Ellett uncles helped raise him and taught him to love hiking, fishing, and exploring in Wayne County. His mother later married Harold Allen. He graduated from Wayne High in 1945 and joined the US Navy a few months later, serving as a signalman for 4 1/2 years. Dad married his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Jean Nelson, on November 22, 1946. They went on to have 4 children, 2 girls and 2 boys. They moved around with school and jobs and enjoyed life as a young family. Spending time as a family was always dad’s first priority. He enjoyed taking us camping, hunting, boating and exploring. Dad really loved the great outdoors. In 1969, their life took a drastic turn when they lost their son, Eddie, to cancer at the age of 17. Even until the end, dad would cry when thinking about Ed. Dad faced several challenges in his life. One of the hardest was watching his sweetheart struggle from the crippling effects of Arthritis. We saw Dad’s true character shine as he lovingly took care of our mother for the rest of her life. What an example he set for all of us. His mother instilled in him a love of education. After fulfilling his duty to the Navy, dad earned a Bachelors Degree in Education and a Masters Degree in Physics from Brigham Young University. Dad put his education to good use, spending 20 years as a Physicist. He then followed his heart back to Wayne County where he shared his love of math with the students at Wayne High School for 13 years. Along the way he instilled this love of math in his children and grandchildren. A few years after Dorothy’s death, he was blessed to find love again with a city girl from Chicago he met online! Elaine Ensign came to Utah to meet dad and the two were immediately smitten and soon married. Dad and Elaine spent 20 years traveling around the country in an RV, then by train, cruising and even by canoe. He loved her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Dad and Elaine spent their last years going between their two homes in Bicknell and Payson. Elaine was such a blessing to our family and it was a great loss to dad when she passed away in March 2020. We will picture dad whenever we play China, eat cheese curd, go 4 wheeling, play pool, go boating, eat buttermilk pancakes, see a motorized wheelchair, take trips to the mountain, go fishing, see sprinklers in a field, go water skiing at Lake Powell, shoot a gun, pick tomatoes from the garden, reach for treats in the car, see a can of coke,… Dad was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and throughout his life held many different positions in the church. Far and away his favorite was that of Scoutmaster where he served for 10 years. Dad loved working with youth and that transitioned into co-founding a youth ranch with his friend Don. President Monson taught the importance of “the one.” Dad put that into practice as he touched the lives of the youth and counselors of Navajo Trails Ranch often searching for “the one” that needed lifting and loving the most. Dad left this world with each of his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews, knowing how very much he loved them. The memories he gave them are precious and Dad/Gramps/Papa Mont will be talked about for generations, as are all great men. Survived by 3 children: Paula Still of Scottsdale, Arizona, Nancy (Ron) Drickey of McMinnville, Oregon, and Mark (Marcie) Ellett of Salt Lake City, Utah plus 14 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren. Preceded in death by his parents, wife Dorothy Jean Nelson Ellett, son Edward Kerry Ellett, sister Elva (Ernest) Jackson, wife Elaine Rose Snyder Ensign Ellett, and son-in-law Gerry Still. Due to corona virus restrictions, we will be having a private graveside service. If you would like to leave condolences or memories, please do so at www.springerturner.com