Dr. Roy C. Ellis was surprised Thursday night at the Claiborne County school board meeting when Forge Ridge principal Marty Cosby brought out a special birthday cake.

Roy C. Ellis grew up in Knoxville but spent the majority of his weekends in Cumberland Gap with his grandfather, Dr. Chance, who practiced medicine for 56 years before he passed away.

“He loved medicine, I guess that’s where I picked up my love of it, was him,” Dr. Ellis said, “I still love it.”

Dr. Ellis has been in and around medicine since he was 18 years old. At 18, he went into the Navy, stayed nine years and says that he came out with a good profession.

“I was a med-tech, which helped put me through school,” he said, “I went to work at Middlesboro Hospital and worked there three years while I finished pre med school.”

He went away to med school and after graduating, he came back here and has been practicing medicine here in the area since 1962.

Dr. Ellis developed an interest in Claiborne County education in the mid-60’s.

“I worked to get the head start program started in the mid-60’s,” he said, “Then along 68 or 69, County Commission put me on the school board and I’ve been on the school board ever since except for one four year term.”

He has seen a number of changes in Claiborne County education and hopes that he has had a hand in some of those changes.

He and Clay Neely worked together on a plan that brought new schools as well as building changes in 73 or 74. New schools that were brought in were H.Y. Livesay, TNT and Springdale.

Several additions to schools were added at Claiborne County High School, Powell Valley High School, SMMS, Ellen Myers and Forge Ridge. Every School in the county benefited from the school building program that was developed.

All three of Dr. Ellis’ children graduated from Powell Valley High School and even after their graduation, he stayed on the board because he said there was more he could to do help.

Between 1978 and 1979, one of his friends talked him into going to Nashville where he joined the Air National Guard.

He put in 12 years in the Air Force, which diversified his medical experience even more.

He became an applied surgeon in the Air Force and says that it was a very enjoyable experience.

“I flew with the Air Force all over the United States with the unit that I was in as a part of Nashville,” he said, “I got a lot of medical experience to go with my training as a family physician.”

“I love medicine, if I didn’t, I guess I would have found something else to do,” He said, “I love doing what I do.”

Dr. Ellis said that if he could have done anything it would have most likely been a med tech.

The office that Dr. Ellis practices in has been his office since 1981.

Dr. Ellis has delivered over 2,000 babies and says that he wishes that he had stayed in it although he has not delivered a baby until 1979.

He feels the purpose of the family physician is to treat the family as a whole, the moms the dads, the children and the grandparents as well.

“You do that for a long, long time and you get to know the patients and the families,” he said, “You can relate to them and you see them as children, do their physicals for school and being on the school board I go to the schools and sees them in the schools too.”

Referring to seeing the children in schools, Dr. Ellis rarely misses a function at either of the schools he represents on the school board, H.Y. Livesay and Cumberland Gap High School.

Although he represents H.Y. and CGHS, Dr. Ellis said that he helps all schools however he can.

Dr. Ellis said that he is looking forward to running for school board again in August.

“I am about the school board like I am about medicine,” he said, “If I have my physical and mental abilities, why not continue doing it?”

He recently took up traveling as a hobby with the Commercial Bank Golden Presidential Club. He plans on visiting Germany later this year and then next year will take a trip to Alaska.

Another hobby is raising cattle, which he learned when he moved to Claiborne County.

“I grew up in Knoxville,” he said, “I’ve learned a lot since being here. I’ve learned to farm and raise cattle.”

He has 45 to 50 head of Black Angus Cattle on his farm down the valley.

Dr. Ellis said that he could have practiced medicine in a big city.

“I’ve been to big cities all over the United States,” he said, “Those places are nice to visit but I love practicing medicine in a rural area.”

He said larger cities takes away the person to person way of medicine and that practicing medicine here has given him friends and extended his family.

Dr. Ellis will turn 80 years old on January 26 and his staff, friends and family would like to extend a thank you and wish him a very happy birthday.