Harry E. “Mouse” Ellett Jr., 77, of Des Moines and formerly of Perry passed away Monday, Feb. 6, 2017, at the Kavanagh Hospice House after a lengthy illness of pulmonary fibrosis.
Funeral services will be held Friday, Feb. 10 at 10:30 a.m. at Murdock Funeral Home in Perry, with Chaplain James Curry officiating. A luncheon will be served at the Methodist Church following the service. Burial will be in Violet Hill Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Donald Johns II, Jeremiah Ellett, Matt Murray, Brian Cornwell, Rodger Beers and Oscar Grabill. Honorary pallbearers are John Baxter, Bob Wilson, Jack Dever, Roger Brokaw, David Burrell and Nicholas Booth.
Visitation will begin at 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, with the family receiving friends from 6-8 p.m. Thursday evening at Murdock Funeral Home.
Harry Earl Ellett Jr. was born May 6, 1939, in the home his grandfather built in Perry, Iowa.
The fourth of four children, Harry attended Perry schools and graduated from Perry High School in 1957.
He joined the National Guard in 1959 and served four years.
Harry began work at Bridgestone Firestone Inc. May 6, 1963, and retired from there in February 1995.
Harry was a proud father of his children, Cindy, born in 1960, and his son, Harry, born in 1964.
Harry moved from Perry in 1993 to Jewel, Iowa, where he married RaNae Marie Beers in February 1995.
He went to work for Harris Auto Racing in Story City, Iowa, until the business was sold about 2001. In 2004 Harry and RaNae moved to Des Moines, and in 2014 they moved to Valley View Village Retirement Community.
Harry is survived by his wife, RaNae Ellett of Des Moines; his daughter, Cindy Hoffman of Rochester, Minn.; his son, Harry E. “Happy” Ellett III of Perry; step-daughter, Jill (Brian) Cornwell of Des Moines; step-son, Nicholas (Myranda) Booth of Fayetteville, N.C.; his sister, Harriett Burrell of Estes Park, Colo.; brother-in-law, Donald Johns of Perry; his cousin, Dorothy Phillips of Denver, Colo.; mother-in-law, Georgia Beers of Ankeny; father-in-law, Carl B. (Sue) Beers of River Falls, Wis.; sister-in-law, LaRae (Randy) Denham of Ankeny; brother-in-law, Roger (Michele) Beers of Dubuque; eight grandchildren, Tasha (Paul Jr.) Booth, Skye (Matt Murray) Ellett, Jeremiah Ellett, Christopher Baker, Haylea Booth, Ashton Booth, Connor Cornwell and Addyson Cornwell; one great-granddaughter, Layla Booth; one great-grandson, Lincoln Booth; and many nieces and nephews.
Preceding Harry in death were his parents; his two sisters, Beverly McMickle and Joanne Johns; and his brother-in-law, Robert Burrell.
