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John Pickard Ellington, age 74, of Dermott passed away Thursday, May 10, 2012, at the UAMS Hospital in Little Rock. He was born on December 21, 1937 in Lake Village, AR to the late John Ernest Ellington and Pearl Hart Dungan Ellington.
He was a retired teacher, lifelong farmer, levee surveyor and attended the Dermott Baptist Church. Mr. Ellington attended Arkansas A&M College (now UAM) for two years before earning his BSE and his Masters Degree from Arkansas State University. His first teaching job was at Wilson, AR where he taught for one year. He then taught five years at Dickinson, TX before coming back to Portland, AR as a math teacher and counselor. He was also a member of the Dermott School Board for many years.
Mr. Ellington was a 2010 inductee into the UAM Sports Hall of Fame as he was on the first UAM basketball team to win an AIC conference championship. One of his greatest interests was working with the Jerome Historical Preservation Committee and the Japanese Relocation Interment Camps. He spent a lot of time staying in touch with various individuals that wanted to come back and tour these camps.
Other than being very involved with various farming groups dealing with rice and soybeans, he loved cooking for himself and others and loved to travel, especially to Australia. He was an avid hunter in his younger years and was a very gifted mathematician. Until his death, he was always an educator both in and out of the classroom.
Survivors include his wife of fifty years, Linda Jackson Ellington of Dermott; two sons, David “Rafe” Ellington and wife, Shannon of Pine Bluff and Kim R. Ellington and wife, Sharon of Jerome; his brother, James M. Ellington of McGehee; his sister, Martha Ann Offutt of Jerome; four grandchildren, Christopher Ellington, Ashley Ellington Lovette, Emily Ellington and Amanda Ellington; and two great grandchildren, Samuel and Hunter Lovette.
He was a retired teacher, lifelong farmer, levee surveyor and attended the Dermott Baptist Church. Mr. Ellington attended Arkansas A&M College (now UAM) for two years before earning his BSE and his Masters Degree from Arkansas State University. His first teaching job was at Wilson, AR where he taught for one year. He then taught five years at Dickinson, TX before coming back to Portland, AR as a math teacher and counselor. He was also a member of the Dermott School Board for many years.
Mr. Ellington was a 2010 inductee into the UAM Sports Hall of Fame as he was on the first UAM basketball team to win an AIC conference championship. One of his greatest interests was working with the Jerome Historical Preservation Committee and the Japanese Relocation Interment Camps. He spent a lot of time staying in touch with various individuals that wanted to come back and tour these camps.
Other than being very involved with various farming groups dealing with rice and soybeans, he loved cooking for himself and others and loved to travel, especially to Australia. He was an avid hunter in his younger years and was a very gifted mathematician. Until his death, he was always an educator both in and out of the classroom.
Survivors include his wife of fifty years, Linda Jackson Ellington of Dermott; two sons, David “Rafe” Ellington and wife, Shannon of Pine Bluff and Kim R. Ellington and wife, Sharon of Jerome; his brother, James M. Ellington of McGehee; his sister, Martha Ann Offutt of Jerome; four grandchildren, Christopher Ellington, Ashley Ellington Lovette, Emily Ellington and Amanda Ellington; and two great grandchildren, Samuel and Hunter Lovette.