Ellis, 73, of Joseph, Oregon, died of lung cancer April 30, 2000, at Wallowa Memorial Hospital. Born July 12, 1926, in Warwick, Wash., he served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1947. He graduated from Oregon State University in 1949 and was a contract officer and helicopter pilot for the U.S. Forest Service, flying out of Missoula, McCall and Idaho City. Ellis jumped the 1951 season at Idaho City.