Roy LeVere Ellerman was born in Sturgis, South Dakota May 19, 1927 to Clyde and Edna (Jennings) Ellerman. He passed away in Edmonds, WA, August 19, 2023. Roy grew up in lumber camps around the Black Hills in SD, and in Spearfish, South Dakota, where his father worked for the Homestake Lumber and Timber Department. Roy graduated from Spearfish High School in 1945 and was immediately drafted into the Army of the United States, in which he served two years. Roy returned to South Dakota, attended and graduated from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology as a civil engineer in 1951. Roy and Mary Belle Rittberger were married that year and after graduation, moved to Portland, Oregon, where Roy worked for Bonneville Power Administration. He worked in Portland and Seattle, Washington, in the Federal System, for several different agencies , US Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, Water Pollution Control Administration, which evolved into EPA for 33 years. Roy had several "hobbies", one of which became a business, making wood items for Decorative Painters. He also loved to travel and was able to do much of this in the US, by attending Decorative Painting Conventions, where he sold his wood pieces. Roy and Mary conducted Folk Art Tours in Europe, where he was able to visit many countries and through independent travel went to South America, Machu Pichu, Galapagos, and Japan. A third hobby was fishing in Alaska with his son, Dave and friends. At 96, Roy enjoyed reminiscing about all the things he had enjoyed in his active life, about the friends he had made in so many different fields, and the many different places he had visited.
Roy is survived by his loving family; his wife Mary, son Dave Ellerman and wife, Louanna, son, Mike Ellerman, daughter, Susan and son-in-law Philip Ershler, daughter-in-law Linda Hasselstrom, brother-in-law Lowell Holmgren, three granddaughters, and seven great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, Clyde and Edna Ellerman, his son Jerry Ellerman, and three sisters, Eileen Holtry ,Deloris Holmgren, and Flora Ellerman.

Donations may be made in Roy's name to his alma mater: SDSMT, 330 E.Kansas City Street, Rapid City, SD 57701. Check can be made to School of Mines CARA. or online to: https://cara.sdsmt.edu and then chose donate and other.
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Graveside services will be held at Tahoma National Cemetary in Kent, WA, October 6, 2023, at 2:30 p.m. Following the graveside services, there will be a Celebration of Life Memorial at Nikki's Restaurant & Lounge, 27120 174th Pl. SE, Covington, WA 98042.