Sandra Shope Ellis

Our family is sad to announce that Sandra Shope Ellis, loving mother and wife, passed away February 2, 2025, in Henry County, Georgia, surrounded by her loving family.

Sandra (‘Sandy’) was born to Mattie Thompson Shope and Major Thomas Berry Shope on December 14, 1947, in Atlanta, GA. She was the youngest of three children. She graduated from Gordon High School in Dekalb County, GA, in 1965. She was one of the first women admitted to Presbyterian College, where she attended for three years before dropping out to marry the love of her life, Ralph Dudley Ellis. They were married in Atlanta in 1968. They had known each other since they were both children, having both grown up in East Atlanta.

When her two children were old enough to attend school, she earned an Associate degree from Clayton State College, and then a Bachelor of Arts from Georgia State University. She went on to work for 25 years at the Clayton County Computer center where she made lifelong friends and made a lasting impression on many people. She retired in 2004.

She was smart, creative, resourceful, and fun. She enjoyed cooking, gambling trips to Biloxi, laughing with her kids and grandkids, and buying things off Amazon she didn’t need (which she’d then give away if she thought you’d like it). Friends and family remember her for her sense of humor and for being down to earth.

She was a great mother—the coolest. When her son was young, she’d take him to the comic book store every few weeks. She would always drop the kids and their friends off at the mall or a concert and would usually slip them $20 for gas or to help them cover a date. In recent years she started slipping the grandkids “hush money”, telling them to take the money and be quiet about it.

Sandra is survived by her husband of 56 years, Ralph Dudley Ellis; her daughter, Kyle Ellis (Sean) Curran; her son, Benjamin Smith Ellis; and her five grandchildren, Evelyn, Amelia, Luke, Juliet, and Holden. Sandra was predeceased by her father Major Thomas Berry Shope, her mother Mattie Thompson Shope, and her brothers John and Thomas Shope, Jr.

While no service is currently planned, she wouldn’t mind if you wanted to raise a glass in her memory and tell a joke to the person next to you.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to your favorite children’s charity (such as St. Jude’s or Make a Wish) or to the Michael J. Fox Foundation.