George Burkhardt Ellis

George Burkhardt Ellis of Memphis, Tennessee and Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida died peacefully at home, surrounded by his loving family on October 4, 2025, just shy of his 86th birthday.

He was born in Memphis and was raised in Portageville, Missouri, Munford, Tennessee, and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. George Ellis was a born Engineer! Throughout his life, he was inquisitive, industrious, and inventive and as he said about himself, "I was always building things." He entered North Carolina State University, graduating with honors in 1962. George's leadership skills first emerged when he served as President of the Engineering Council and Vice President of Theta Tau Engineering Fraternity his senior year.

Following graduation from NC State, George joined Buckeye Cellulose, a subsidiary of Procter and Gamble, in Memphis as a Project Engineer, obtaining his Professional Engineering License in both Florida and Tennessee. While he enjoyed project engineering, his career changed course to manufacturing when he transferred to Buckeye's Foley, Florida plant in 1969. He became an expert in power and recovery systems and was promoted to Foley Plant Manager in 1977.

In 1982, George was assigned to lead a one- year financial turnaround of the operations at P&G's Grande Prairie Alberta Canada plant. Serving as the General Manager in charge of the facility, it is reported by P&G that the procedures George initiated, and lessons learned from his leadership resulted in more than $1 Billion savings in operating and manufacturing costs. Returning to Buckeye headquarters in Memphis in 1983, George assumed responsibility for all the Company's manufacturing operations as Managing Director. A highlight of his career was leading the reliability improvement and total quality initiative across the Company, improving production and safety and "reduced costs".

In 1993, George invested in the purchase of part of the Buckeye subsidiary from P&G, which became Buckeye Technologies, Inc., retaining the Memphis headquarters. George often said one of the gifts God gave him was assessing people and he bet on the outstanding team that he was joining. As he joked later in life, "I bet the farm, and it was the best decision I ever made." He served as Senior Vice President for all Cellulose Manufacturing Plants, Engineering, and Environmental Compliance.

George's leadership was direct, to the point, data driven, and many peers describe interactions with him as "memorable". He was honest in his feedback; helpful, supportive, understanding and there was no question where he stood on an issue. His legacy will always be excellence in engineering and operations. He always did what was right for the business. He was a "Buckeye Legend" and he loved his Buckeye family.


George lived his life committed to principles of honesty and hard work. He was genuine and treated all with respect. He demanded excellence from himself and challenged others to be the best versions of themselves. He was curious, always reading WWII history and he was generous, always helping his family and friends.

After 41 1/2 years of dedicated work, George retired in 2004. He committed to spending more time with the family he loved whether it was in Ponte Vedra or Jacksonville, "Jimbo" Bay, or with many friends in Memphis and Florida. He was a long-time member of the University Club of Memphis, The Mystic Society of the Memphi, and he enjoyed the monthly Buckeye Lunch Group. He developed his culinary skills to everyone's delight, and he greeted each new year with his black-eyed peas specialty. He looked forward to "squiring" special friends who had lost spouses to dinner, as he felt especially honored by these friendships.

George was proud of his Ellis family history, often referring to his mother as his "touchstone", and he was a devoted father and grandfather. He was said to be the "heart of the family" by his children; he was generous with his wisdom, his humility was real, and he always had your back. George was also known as Dad, Daddy G, DG, "Jim", and Jimbo to his children and grandchildren.

George is predeceased by his parents, as well as one grandson. He is survived by his wife of 41+ years, Julie Huston Ellis, his sister-in-law Melissa Huston, and immediate children: Kelly (Kathy), Barclay (Scott), Billy (Kelly), and Patton (Larry). In addition, he is survived by grandchildren and great grandchildren who were very present in his life and brought him joy and love: Katya, Alicia, Heather, Chase, Palmer, Ellie, Harbour, Dylan, Kirkwood, Ellis and Tucker. He also loved his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren he did not see often.

The family is so grateful to George's caregivers Audrey, Felicia, Ashley and Tiffany, as well as Caring Companions, as he knew and loved each amazing professional. He adored and worked hard for his dedicated therapists, Eric, Trina and Lauren, who believed in him and provided so much hope. The family thanks each of them and his physicians for their constant commitment to his care.

A memorial service celebrating George's life will be held Friday, October 17th at the Church of the Holy Communion at 11:00 am.

Additional parking will be available across the street at a neighboring church with a shuttle provided. Please join the family following the service at a Reception in Cheney Parish Hall.

In lieu of flowers, Memorials may be made to Church of the Holy Communion, Hutchison School, or Memphis University School which were proudly supported by George Ellis.