Carey "Jay" James Ellis, III

Carey J. Ellis, III, departed this life on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, after suffering a debilitating stroke a few weeks earlier. Having lived a full life of adventure, he often expressed that he was surprised he lived as long as he did, having survived many experiences that could have killed him throughout his life.

Carey James Ellis, III, was born in Monroe, Louisiana on June 23, 1948, the son of Carey James Ellis, Jr., and Linda Hudson Ellis of Rayville, Louisiana. He was known as “Carey Jay” and “CJ” to friends and family. 

Carey Jay Ellis was welcomed into the world as the fourth Carey Ellis of Rayville. His great-grandfather, Carey J.A. Ellis, and his grandfather, Carey James Ellis, Sr, were prominent jurists and civic leaders. C.J.A. Ellis was a District Judge for Louisiana’s Fifth Judicial District – encompassing Richland, Franklin, and West Carroll Parishes. C.J. Ellis, Sr, served as District Attorney for the Fifth Judicial District from 1916 until he became the Judge of that same district from 1930 until 1954. Together, they led the establishment of Richland State Bank in 1902. 

Carey Jay’s father, C.J. Ellis, Jr., earned his law degree at Tulane University, like his father before him, and returned to Rayville in 1946 with his New Orleans-born bride to join the family law firm of Ellis and Ellis. He served a term as District Attorney for the Fifth Judicial District of Louisiana and practiced law continuously until his death in 1989.

Carey Jay grew up in the idyllic world of Rayville's Smith Street. His parents built their home next to Carey, Jr.'s sister, Innes Ellis Green and her husband Bussy Green, with Bussy's sister, “Teeny” or “Tia” and Foster Jones living on the lot behind the Greens. On the remaining lot of the square were the Solomons and their four kids. The 11 children of these 4 families, and their friends from the street and beyond enjoyed a free-ranging life of all the games and adventures children of the 1940s and ‘50s could imagine - and more.  Carey Jay was very close to his cousins, especially James Green, with whom he experienced and cooked up no shortage of shenanigans.   

Carey Jay's younger days of fun were severely curtailed in the early 1950s, however.  During the nation-wide outbreak of polio, Carey Jay was stricken.  In this time before the development of vaccines by Dr. Jonas Salk and Dr. Albert Sabin, polio was a frightening scourge. It often left its victims crippled or dead, with minimal treatment options.  The standard treatment was to confine the patient to bed, and place him in an iron lung - a large metal contraption that was a negative pressure ventilator - to help the patient breathe. 

During his confinement with polio, Carey Jay’s cousins and friends were not allowed to see him for fear they too would be afflicted by this malady.  His family was able to have him brought home from the hospital for his iron lung confinement, but his isolation was long and his recovery slow and arduous.  In an effort to give him some normalcy for his June birthday that year, he was allowed to have a birthday party.  However, the guests were not his age mates.  His father, grandfather, uncle, and a few other Rayville men brought him outside in the iron lung, and did their best to entertain this boy who had to miss out on so much.  Young Carey Jay did not die of polio, and he was extremely fortunate to have a full, if slow, recovery from polio.  He had to learn to walk again, having lost the habit and so many of the muscles needed to do so.  His recovery was complete, and he would go on to play on the Rayville High School football team as if nothing had ever happened. 

From an early age, Carey Jay was interested in how things work, and had a science lab in his parent's garage.  His cousin, Bill Green, James' older brother shared this curiosity.  It is perhaps no surprise to anyone who knew the resourcefulness of this group of kids, that they cooked up an experiment of epic proportions.  While Carey Jay claims he was mostly a bystander, he, James, friend Bubba Chaney, and Bill Green somehow managed to procure black powder and other ingredients, and set out to build a bomb.  They found instructions in a book and followed them, more or less carefully.  

Once their work was complete, they proceeded to test their creation.  The test involved a 50 gallon oil drum - behind the Green home. It worked. Very loudly.  “Miss Ruby” Calhoun who lived across the street from the Greens, was terrified by the explosion.  As it happened, an airplane flew over right about the time the bomb went off.  Miss Ruby came rushing out of her house screaming “The Russians are bombing us! The Russians are bombing us!”  It took some time for Bussy Green and others to convince her that “The Russians” had not launched a much-feared attack on usually-tranquil Rayville.  

Remarkably, Carey Jay did not die that day, either.  He and the others survived their bomb and the day, even though their parents seriously considered the most extreme measures to prevent any further life-threatening experiments.  Needless to say, the group was probably more emboldened than daunted by the outcome of their attempt.  

As the years passed, Carey Jay continued to enjoy an active life in Rayville and at the Ellis Family Camp on Lake St. John.  He and his cousin James loved to ski, and even mastered (or so they claimed) barefoot skiing.  They had an unusual training program, challenging each other not to fall by pulling the skier into a protected cove on the far east end of the lake.  It was, and is, known to lovers of that lake as "Alligator Alley," given that the Lake's reptilian inhabitants can often be found in that spot.  Despite the full-bore nature of their thrill-seeking and nautical exploits, Carey Jay did not die during this period, neither by running into a Cypress tree or knee, nor falling into the jaws of a prehistoric creature.

Along the way, CJ found his passion in music.  He was never far from his bongo drums, and he mastered the rhythms and beats of rock and roll and beyond, as well as taking up the guitar, piano, and other instruments to play the melodies that drove him.  He was in a band with his friends, called “The Cats”, and they wore Caterpillar-logo caps when they performed.  They had notoriety if not fame, and earned a loyal following of their closest friends and family.  Music remained an important part of his life from those days forward.

It was about this time that CJ began a certain rapprochement with the legal field.  At the time, one might say he was getting a look at the "other" side of the life of a jurist.  He probably got more than he bargained for, but he learned lessons and values that would influence his life going forward.

Carey Jay first married Melissa McKee in 1971. After they divorced, Melissa remained a close friend of CJ and his second wife, Joyce.  Carey Jay and Joyce Elizabeth Powell married on Feb. 14, 1981, with Joyce’s daughter, Jessica, as their flower girl.  Jessica was born on Jan. 11, 1978 to Joyce and her first husband. 

Together, CJ and Joyce had one son, James Lee Ellis, on March 1, 1990.  His arrival rounded out their beautiful family. Carey Jay was devoted to Jessica and James. CJ and Joyce’s marriage was a long, fun-filled, and loving one, cut short by Joyce's untimely death in 2018.  

After a few years of a well-spent/miss-spent youth, Carey Jay made his way to law school at Mississippi State, and earned his place as the fourth generation in the law firm of Ellis and Ellis.  He worked in the shadow of his grandfather and great-grandfather, and alongside his father until his father's death in 1989.  Carey Jay kept the firm in the family until his semi-retirement in recent years.

Carey Jay's law practice focused on the most sacred of principles of both the law and the Constitution of the United States:  that every person deserves equal justice under the law.  Every. Person.  Even those who cannot afford representation, or whose innocence is far from evident.  He eschewed the kind of legal practice that ensures financial security in favor of a practice that fulfills the most important elements of the legal system - the very basis of U.S. law.  

He earned the respect and admiration of lawyers and judges alike, and his principled approach to his profession was widely known.  He earned the gratitude of his clients whose causes - lost or not - he defended with his full dedication. He did things not for attention or to enrich himself, but because it was the right thing to do. 

Later in his career, he spent more of his time working on appellate cases.  Capital offense cases, where life sentences or the death penalty are involved, are subject to automatic appeal in the State of Louisiana.  CJ would take on those difficult cases. He was devoted to fair representation under the law. 

CJ had a an especially good and respectful rapport with one judge - so much so that on the occasion of the judge's retirement, he offered for CJ to bring his guitar (and maybe even wear a costume) and play in court on "motion" day (no juries or public, just lawyers present).  CJ’s performance that day was the highlight of the judge’s farewells.

A kind, sensitive man, CJ loved nature and animals.  He always had dogs, and became a certified dog trainer. The animals that came under his care were probably the luckiest on the face of the earth: fully loved and generously treated at all times.

CJ’s cousins were like siblings to him. He was known to stand up in protection of his nearly-sister-girl-cousins or go out of his way to do them a good turn. He once drove all the way from Rayville to Lafayette to pick up his cousin, Ellis, from college. He then drove her to Fort Polk in Leesville, so that she could spend a few hours with her future husband Bill Norris, who was about to be shipped out to Fort Gordon, Georgia. At the end of the day, CJ drove her back to Lafayette before returning to Rayville.  It was her only time to see Bill for many months.  

Carey Jay Ellis, III, was a gentle and thoughtful soul, as well as a happy prankster. With his effervescent personality and charm, he was adored by many. He leaves behind his step-daughter, Jessica Elizabeth Clack and her husband, Benjamin, of Rayville, son, James Ellis and his partner, Brandon Dorbeck who live in West Monroe, and grandchildren, Anne Elizabeth Clack, Michael Wayne Clack, and Sydney Michelle Clack, all of Rayville. Also left to mourn his loss are his next-door cousins, James Green and wife, Beth, (Rayville), Ellis Green Norris (Simsboro), Kitty Green Gaharan (Wichita Falls, Texas), as well as many more cousins of 3 more generations, and friends from throughout his life.  

A celebration of life was held on Friday, February 21 at Brown Holley Funeral Home in Rayville, 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm. Carey James Ellis, III will be buried next to his loving wife, Joyce, in the Rayville Masonic Cemetery in Rayville, Louisiana. 

A very special thank you to friends of the family for loving and supporting Carey Jay:

Kimby Diebel, a very special neighbor and friend who sprang into action particularly in his last days. Buffy McSwain, a prior employee and friend considered a second daughter by Carey Jay and Joyce who unconditionally loved the family. Suzonia Stuart, a force of nature hired by Carey Jay in the past and remained a family friend that may be the only known person who could match his energy.

Finally, a very sincere apology from Carey Jay’s children to any past neighbor living near him in any location and at any point in time who had to endure his time spent practicing drum solos at unpredictable hours of the day and night.  They promise it was worse inside the house than outside. 

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent: to the Delta Humane Society who provide care and love, medical attention, and make effort to house pets without homes. 

Condolences may be left at brownholleyfuneralhomes.com.

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