Harold W. Ellard

Ellard, Harold W."Red"
Kalamazoo, Michigan Red's life began February 18, 1924, son of Herbert and Ada Ellard. He was part of a large family with ten other siblings. Their family resided in Mattawan on a small farm. As a young man he served in the military as a paratrooper during WWII. After the war ended he returned home and got involved in a special passion... stockcar racing. He raced at Kalamazoo Speedway, Berlin Raceway, Galesburg Speedway, Hartford and Jones Track driving car number 9. It must have been a Ford!
He pursued Mary for two years and she finally said "Yes". They were married August 1, 1953 in the middle of a lightning storm. That was just the beginning. They raised four children on Stevens Avenue in Oakwood. Scott who preceded him in death in 1996, Linda Joe Alvarez of La Habra, California, Genia Ken Vosters of Otsego, and Kandi Ellard of Kalamazoo. He adored his grandchildren, Mary Jo Evanoff of La Habra, California, Amy Perez of Laguna Hills California, David Vosters of Toledo Ohio, Andrew Vosters of Otsego and Gregory of Houghton Michigan. He also had five great grandsons, Alexander, Austin and Ethan Evanoff, Drew and Cruz Perez.
When his stockcar racing was done he still pursued it by watching NASCAR racing. He was a diehard FORD man. Just ask his daughters because if they dated a man that drove a Chevy he would tell them "park it in the street, not my driveway!" His other hobbies included fishing with his buddy Vern, Ken or his grandsons. And no fish was to small! He also loved to deer hunt with Vern and Joe and they always got their share. But the big one, the trophy, always got away. He was an avid card player. But he always played to win. He also loved mushrooming and riding the mini bikes at the Jordon River and spending weekends on his boats at Saugatuck. It was hard for him to sit still for long periods. He was always tinkering in the garage on one project or another. Did you need something fixed? He could always rig it. If not he had stock in duct tape and bailing wire. In the summer he lived for his garden. He and Mary did lots of traveling and one special trip for them was to Alaska on their 50th anniversary. He will be missed by his large family but we have plenty of stories to keep us going for years! So if you have any to share with us we will enjoy being entertained by them.