Richard “R.H.” Ellington

ANGIER—Richard Henry “R.H.” Ellington, former Mayor of Angier, passed Wednesday. A native of Harnett County, he was the son of the late Ira C. Ellington and Gertrude Ellington Johnson. R.H. was a faithful member of Neill’s Creek Baptist Church where he served as a Deacon, Sunday School Teacher of the Adult Men, member of the Baptist Men and most all church committees where he could make a difference. A member of the Kiwanis Club of Angier, he was a Past President and received the Kiwanian of the Year Award. He served as Mayor of Angier from 2005 – 2015 and was on the Board of Directors for Mid Carolina Council of Government, Harnett Forward Together and Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. He retired after a lifetime in the food distribution industry as the manager of the School Department for US Foods. R.H. was instrumental in helping locate a new elementary school in the Town of Angier and helped raise money for the landscaping at the school and at Depot Square. He and a group of volunteers planted all the shrubs and trees on the grounds of both. In 2015, he was honored with a Key to the Town and Depot Square was renamed as R.H. Ellington Grounds at Depot Square, in his honor. R.H. always said, “Leave it better than you found it.”, and he surely did. He is survived by his loving wife of 33 years, Jeanne Ellington; sons, Rick Ellington (Angie) of Angier, Dr. Grant Ellington (Dawn) of Clayton, Ashley Ellington (Kelly) of Raleigh; daughter, January Lashley of Coats; mother-in-law, Janet Fasick of Sanford; sister-in-law, Christie Lawlor (Brian) of Cary and their daughters, Lindsey Baker, Quinn Lawlor, and Haleigh Waterman; grandchildren, Landon, Elizabeth, Abbey, Sophie, Ira, Garrett, and Dylan Ellington. Services will be held on Saturday at Neill’s Creek Baptist Church at 11:00 am. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends on Friday from 6:00-8:00 pm at Bryan-Lee Funeral Home in Angier. Memorial contributions may be made to the Neill’s Creek Baptist Church Building Fund, 4200 Neill’s Creek Road, Angier, NC 27501.