Ellison L. “Elly” Wefel, Jr., age 76 of Blue Ridge, passed away Friday, August 19, 2022 at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital following a brief illness.

Elly was born to the late Ellison L and Evelyn L Reynolds Wefel on December 8, 1945. He is survived by his wife of 36 too-short years, Pamela Kurosky Wefel; daughter Christine (Michael) Noble of Thorndale Pennsylvania; granddaughter Jules Noble; brother, Randy (Sue) Wefel of Glendale, Arizona; and nephew Brent (Brandi) Wefel of Glendale, Arizona.

Elly may have been born in Ohio and had family ties to Wisconsin, but his family and work with the Railroad allowed him to live in many states. After graduating high school in Port Huron, Michigan he attended Michigan State University (Go Spartans!), and served in The United States Army in Vietnam. After his tour and college, he began work with the Railroad in 1969 and briefly lived in Pennsylvania before returning back to Michigan where he met his wife, Pam on a blind date. When they married, she happened to bring a 9yr old daughter with her, Christine. The new family moved from Michigan to Maryland, to upstate New York, and then to Pennsylvania. One final move in 1998 put Elly and Pam in Botetourt County, Virginia on his favorite property, “Wefel’s Mountain”.

After 35 years of service in the Railroad, Elly was able to retire from Norfolk Southern and he and Pam had more time for his favorite hobbies: train spotting, photography, bird watching, and volunteering. In addition to volunteering at RAM house prepping and serving meals, he proudly passed along his love of all-things railroad as a volunteer for the O. Winston Link Museum in Roanoke, a tour guide for the 611, and simply chatting with fellow guests at his favorite bed & breakfast on the shores of the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (that just happened to have great views of the railroad bridges and was a pit stop on the way to see Christine).

Elly’s joys in life were his wife, his family- especially his granddaughter, his trains, and nature. He and Pam loved sitting on the front porch watching the gardens, the back porch watching the deer, and driving the Blue Ridge Parkway just for fun.

Come celebrate Elly’s life with us at 2:00pm Friday, August 26 at Rader Funeral Home, 630 Roanoke Road Daleville with Rev. Fr. Stephen McNally officiating. Inurnment with full military honors will be at Southwest Virginia Veterans Cemetery in Dublin at a future date. Elly’s family will receive friends at the funeral home 2-4 & 6-8 Thursday.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Church of the Transfiguration, 7624 Roanoke Road, Fincastle, Virginia 24090.

Online condolences may be offered to the family and live stream of the service may be found at www.rader-funeralhome.com/tributes/Ellison-Wefel.