7-year-old remembered as ‘precious, happiest, goofiest, loudest and [most] giving little boy’
By Marlo Scafe
Teacher and family friend, Stephanie Perritt, met Ellis when he entered her kindergarten class. She said he would go out of his way to say hello and make friends with his fellow students and in the community when he went shopping with his parents.
“He just was a little magnet, like literally a little magnet and light to shine,” Perritt said, “He literally loved everything and everybody.”
Perritt also said he never wore shoes.
When he was younger, he received third-degree burns on his feet after unknowingly running through the remnants of a bonfire. Ellis’ feet healed, but his passion for going bare foot stayed, and the freedom of his toes in the dirt began to match the carefree jubilant way he navigated through life.
Perritt said he loved the simple things in life. Ellis was happy when he was catching bugs and lizards that he would hide underneath his bed, and spending time with his parents, Samantha and Mitchell, and his two older brothers, Boone and Karson. Ellis would often spend his time enjoying the outdoors and loved to go swimming, fishing, and riding four-wheelers.
According to Perritt, Ellis would spend quality time with his grandmother, who would shop with him on QVC and let him pick out gifts for his teachers because he was passionate about giving back to the people around him. Perritt described how Ellis had a gravelly quality to his voice that he was not afraid to use, whether to tell people how much he loved them or to sing along to his favorite song, “Where the Green Grass Grows” by Tim McGraw.
Perritt said that before entering the second grade this year, Ellis and his family spent the summer doing activities together like going to the beach, movie theatre, camping, and a bull riding event in Las Vegas that his older brother, Karson, participated in. Ellis was delighted to spend some of his summer in Vacation Bible School and attending football practice. On June 21, Ellis celebrated his seventh birthday.
Since Ellis’ tragic death on Aug. 17, the community has surrounded the Ellis family with the warmth of support. Tractor Supply Co. has donated feed for the variety of animals the Ellis family owns, and a meal train has been set up to have meals delivered to the family for at least 30 days. The Ellis family has not asked for donations, but their Venmo account has received up to $3,000. If you are interested in signing up for the meal train or donating to their Venmo account, Perritt can be reached on Facebook at Spg Perritt.
“Knox Lane was the most precious, happiest, goofiest, loudest and [most] giving little boy. God put him on this Earth to give us love and nothing but joy from him,” Perritt said, “Please pray for his mommy, daddy, Boone, and Karson.”