Judge Ellis dies

Chancery Court Judge George Ellis passed away Monday morning at his home in Dyer, Tenn.

Judge Ellis has served Gibson County courts since 1978 when he became the youngest individual in state history to serve on a constitutionally-mandated court. Ellis was appointed as the General Sessions Judge for Gibson County by the late Governor Ray Blanton and was sworn in the day he turned thirty in the Governor’s office by the late Chancellor Marion H. Holmes, Jr.

Judge Ellis was re-elected General Sessions Judge three times before being appointed as Chancellor of the 28th Judicial District of Tennessee in 1993 by then late Governor Ned Ray McWherter.  The 28th District includes Gibson, Crockett and Haywood Counties.  Ellis sought and won re-election for Chancellor four times.  In 2020, he announced that he would not seek re-election in 2022.

“In each of the seven elections I stood for, I was fortunate to have received the majority of votes in every single voting precinct,” Ellis wrote in a statement about his retirement. “I want to express my sincere gratitude to the people of Crockett, Gibson and Haywood counties for entrusting me with this responsibility for forty-four years.”

A memorial service for Judge Ellis will be held on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 2 pm. at Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Dyer.