Kim Marie Ellis

Kim Marie Ellis of Hubbard, Oregon, entered into rest on March 20, 2023 at the age of 65 due to acute illness.

Kim was born in South Haven, Michigan on March 4, 1958, to Wilbur and Marilyn Stokes. She grew up in Michigan, Arizona, and New Mexico, surrounded by a large, blended family, before ultimately settling in Oregon where she spent most of her life. She lived and worked in Woodburn, Stayton, and Aumsville, eventually retiring in Hubbard.

Stayton area residents of the 1980s may remember her as the smiling face in the drive-up Fotomat booth where they would take their film to be developed. She worked several years driving school bus for the Cascade School District, and was known by a lot of teens as the ‘cool’ bus driver. There were many additional odd jobs that she worked throughout her life, but she kept returning to the hospitality industry, working as a waitress and bartender, which were perfect fits for her effervescent, highly social personality. As a waitress, she was well-known for amazing large parties of guests with how many plates she could deliver to the table at a time, often with at least 6 large plates (3 up and down each arm) in a trip. She was always available for a customer, be they a regular or a newcomer, to bend her ear in conversation and she remembered everyone’s names. When her body could no longer tolerate the long hours on her feet, she attended Chemeketa Community College and trained herself for a new career in office work. She was extremely proud to be a college graduate.

Kim could always be counted on to be the life of the party. She was a ball of fun-loving energy who was known as “Sunshine” by many. She was always up for adventure and in her younger years enjoyed driving Baja bugs across the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico. A teenaged athlete, she was a gifted softball player and also coached teams of younger players. As an adult, she joined more than one bowling league and continued to play softball until experiencing a severe knee injury during a game. She was a prolific volunteer, from coaching youth softball in Arizona to being a leader with Brownies and the Fireflies kids club. She loved camping and camp songs and could often be caught singing her favorite, A Bear in Tennis Shoes. Kim was also an animal lover and could be found surrounded by her animals during all stages of her life. She and friends would feed and often catch stray cats, then take them to the Oregon Humane Society to have them spayed or neutered. She and her American Eskimo Dog, Sugar, were always very popular wherever they went.

Kim is survived by her son, Nathan, and his partner, Crystal; her grandson, Anthony; her granddaughter, Kayla, son-in-law, Nick, and her great granddaughters, Amelia, Serenity, and Selena; her grandsons, Christian, Jesse, and William; her brother, Wade, sister-in-law, Erica, her nephew, Asher, and her niece, Zipporah; by a large extended family; by many dear friends whose lives she touched; and by her beloved best friend, her American Eskimo Dog, Sugar. Kim was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers, Mark, and Brian; her sisters Debra, and Shelley; and her grandsons Cody, and Nathan Dakota.

Kim will be laid to rest at Chambers Cemetery, outside of South Haven, Michigan, alongside her father, mother, and siblings.

A celebration of life will be held at a future date.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory, to assist with final expenses, may be given by using the Donate Now link on this page; and in the future to the Oregon Humane Society, Salem Campus.