Ellis Castor

Ellis Emery Castor, 91, passed away, Thursday, July 11, 2024 in Weatherford. He was born to Olin and Velma Castor on June 1, 1933 in Sterling, Colorado. He grew up on a wheat farm in Buckingham, Colorado. In 1960, he and his wife Shirley moved to Texas to pursue his career as a horse trainer. They were married for 67 years and lovingly raised 4 daughters. Ellis was an exceptionally gifted horse trainer and calf roper and spent nearly his entire life devoted to this passion. He was also a devoted Christian who was passionate about sharing the gospel with others. Ellis was preceded in death by his older sister, Colleen, and younger brother, Gary. He is survived by his wife, Shirley; daughters, Kim, June, Dawn and Leslie, older brother, Duane, younger sister, Portia; numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren.


“How do you keep a turkey in suspense?” Well, the punchline to this joke is, of course, “I’ll tell you
later.” But when Shirley told this joke to Ellis, he didn’t think it was funny. In fact, he responded by shouting, “No,
you tell me right now!” Turned out to be the funniest joke Shirley ever told.
Ellis Emery Castor was born in Sterling, Colorado on June 1, 1933, to Olin Castor, a successful wheat farmer, and his beautiful wife, Velma. Ellis had 4 siblings, including an older sister, Colleen (now deceased), an older brother, Duane (92), a younger brother, Gary (now deceased), and a baby sister named Portia, 79, who lives just a couple miles from the family farm where they grew up in Buckingham, Colorado.
Ellis was born under the zodiac sign of Gemini. Now, Ellis was a firm believer that astrology and all such things were straight from the devil. But one day, while he and Shirley were watching Jeopardy, Ellis learned that in Greek mythology, Gemini refers to two twins. One of those twins happens to be named Castor, and he was known as the
“tamer of horses.” Upon learning this, Ellis had to admit,
that was “some coincidence.”
And it certainly does seem as though Ellis Castor was destined to be a tamer of horses. From the time he was old enough to walk, all Ellis ever wanted to do was ride horses. When he was about 5 years old, his dad brought home a gentle old Hamiltonian stud named Jerry. “Words can’t begin to express the excitement I felt that first time I got on him,” Ellis often recalled. By the age of 7, he was roping the chickens...for which he received a well-deserved spanking. And by the age of 10, he was training every horse that found its way to the Castor family farm.
Across the hills and fields of the nearby government ranches, a teenage Ellis honed his calf-roping skills as a hired hand. He’d rope and tie down the calves while the ranchers doctored them. And he thought he’d become rich when he received his $20 pay for 3 days of work.
But at the age of 19, his blossoming horse training career came to an unwelcome halt when he received that letter from Uncle Sam. Ellis was drafted and spent two years in the U.S. Army, spending most of that time stationed in Germany. Ellis spent those two years worried
his parents might sell his horses while he was gone, and
worried that he’d be too old to rope when he got out. While
he wasn’t particularly fond of his army experience at the
time, he was later very grateful he had the opportunity to
serve his country, and knew it had made him a better man.
When Ellis was discharged and returned home, he immediately resumed his focus on horses. He became known as the calf roper to beat in the local rodeo scene, and was in the habit of introducing himself as “Ellis Castor, nobody faster.” His rope horse, Eagle, was his pride and joy, and the envy of all the other ropers. But the horse he remembered most fondly for the rest of his life was a little bay named Red. Ellis loved to tell stories about how Red would follow him around like a dog, and would jump the fence and run after him whenever he drove away.
Despite his lack of breeding, papers, or any other qualifying attributes, Ellis trained Red to be a cutting horse, and successfully competed against horses and riders with far greater means. In fact, a wealthy rancher once offered Ellis $500 for Red. He told that rancher he wouldn’t take a million dollars for him.
When Ellis was 22, his good friend Bill, fixed him up on a blind date. Bill’s girlfriend, Betty, knew a nice girl named Shirley, who was 17 at the time. Ellis agreed, and the 4 went on a double date. Things were going well at first. Betty and Bill were in the back seat. Ellis and Shirley up front. But when Shirley turned around to talk to Betty, Ellis smarted off to her, “no comments from the diaper gallery.” To Ellis’s extreme surprise, Shirley slapped him in the face. After that night, Shirley said Ellis never did ask her out or plan a proper date, he simply showed up at her house every Saturday night.
When Ellis asked Shirley’s dad for her hand in
marriage, her father asked him, “What are you going to do
if you can’t take care of my daughter?” “I’ll die trying,”
Ellis told him. Married on April 13, 1957, Ellis and
Shirley began their epic journey together.
With a great deal of love and not a whole lot of money, Ellis and Shirley raised 4 daughters, Kim, June, Dawn and Leslie. Ellis had nicknames for each – Kim was Ellie blond, June was the Beaver, Dawn was Dandy, sometimes Dandy Dawn, and he called Leslie Wiser. Ellis deeply loved and was very proud of each of his daughters and their families.
The girls recall that there was never a dull moment with Ellis, and growing up with him as a dad – while sometimes frustrating – was always filled with fun, laughter, and lots of hard work. The girls were a great help to Ellis in his business. They cleaned horse stalls, they saddled and unsaddled horses, and even helped ride the horses he had in training. They loaded calved into the roping chute while he practiced his calf-roping – often for hours at a time in the hot Texas sun. But when the work was done, it was time to play. Ellis instigated foot races, water fights, football games (Ellis’s team always won, of course), and perhaps his favorite of all, arm wrestling.
Growing up as Ellis Castor’s daughters, they became great horsewomen themselves. They won countless trophies at countless horse shows – more than the Castor home could hold. And the whole family looked forward to heading to the Mesquite Rodeo every weekend, where Ellis would compete – and often win – in the calf-roping competition.
All the girls are grateful for the values of hard work, integrity and excellence that Ellis was committed to in his work. And they cherish the magical memories of growing up surrounded by an abundance of horses, dogs and cows. And we know that Ellis would want us to mention here today a few
of those horses and dogs that were extra special to him and
the family.
In addition to the horses already mentioned, Buzzy Beaver was a beautiful gray, and one of the best rope horses he’d ever had. Ellis sold Buzzy Beaver to a man named Tuff Cooper, who wanted a good rope horse for his son. His son’s name was Roy Cooper – who would later go one
to become a world-champion calf-roper and Rodeo Hall of Fame member.
Bar Kingwood is perhaps the most outstanding all-around horse that Ellis ever had the privilege to train and show. In 1965, Kingwood won the Texas State Fair Grand Champion Rope Horse award. Kim and Dawn won a large number of those trophies on Kingwood, in every event from English to reining to horsemanship. And this kind, gentle gelding took good care of Leslie when she was learning to ride as a little girl.
And we can’t forget little Icy Bar, or as he was often called, Booger. Despite his size, Ellis made a great rope horse out of him. He even competed on Booger at the Cheyenne rodeo. Ellis always enjoyed telling the story of
how the other ropers just couldn’t believe he was actually going to rope on that little horse.
There are many more horses that Ellis grew to love – too many to name here – but there is one more that was
perhaps his most cherished, and that is Little Mac. For 30 years, Little Mac was his loyal rope horse, and also his
loyal friend. He was Ellis’ last horse to compete on. And now we’ll take a few minutes to mention the dogs of Ellis’s life. We’ll start with the German Shepherd named Joe, who also fell in love with Shirley, and was a fierce protector of babies Kim and June. A beautiful border collie named ChaCha was perhaps the smartest he ever had - he trained her to help him train cutting horses by working the cattle. Flipper was a sweet Spaniel Mix that Dawn bought at the school fair. Ellis taught her lots of fun tricks, including how to play dead...but her tail would never die.
A long-haired black German Shepherd named Big Iron thought he was a border collie, and always wanted to help work cattle. A longhaired red healer named Taz (short for
Tazmanian Devil) was the boss at the new Springtown place for many years. A blue-healer named Sara was the niece of the famous dog named Skidboot. She was a maniac that would
eat anything, except her beloved stuffed animals. And then there is a sweet border collie named Hap, who is at this very moment joining us in mourning the loss of Ellis.
Ellis and Shirley lived their life together fearlessly, never afraid of change, a challenge, or the unknown. On Jan 1, 1960 – in the middle of a storming blizzard - they loaded up their cars and headed for Texas. Horse Country. Without a penny to their names or a friend in the whole state, they started a new life together with their 2 baby girls and their German Shepherd, Joe. A third baby girl soon joined the family, and Ellis worked tirelessly to get his horse training business off the ground.
In 1963, Ellis was able to establish his horse training business in Colleyville, Texas, at the Bar W Ranch. A couple named Sam and Dub Howington welcomed him and his business to their ranch, and a lifelong friendship was born. Ellis’s business thrived and grew during the 19 years he was at the Bar W Ranch. Ellis not only trained horses, but he also felt it was just as important to train the riders how to handle the horses properly. He spent countless hours teaching and coaching riders of all ages.
Ellis did have his share of personal struggles, as we all do. By his mid 40s, his drinking was beginning to cause problems in his business, and more importantly, in their
marriage. But Ellis turned to the Lord, and with the Lord’s divine help, turned his life around. Ellis and Shirley embarked on a great spiritual journey from that point on, and that journey continued to the very last day of his life.
In 1982, Ellis learned that Sam and Dub had sold their ranch, and he would have to leave. For weeks, he searched and searched for a new place to set up his business. Finally, Ellis found the place of his dreams right here in Springtown. But there was one problem – the house was for sale, but the 6 acres it sat on was not for sale. That didn’t stop Ellis. He would proceed to hound and badger Marguerite Thompson, the realtor, on a daily basis. In fact, he started moving equipment and building supplies onto the property before it was his. In the end, his persistence paid off, and Marguerite finally agreed to sell those 6 acres to Ellis, who she just referred to as “Cowboy.”
Once again, Ellis and Shirley set off for a fresh start. Their new place had a modest house, a 2-stall barn, and 6 acres of weeds. There was an enormous amount of work to be done in order for Ellis to resume his business here. And so they rolled up their sleeves and proceeded to build a beautiful 10-stall horse barn, fences, and a roping arena. Together, Ellis and Shirley completely transformed this place into a beautiful horse-training ranch, and they lived happily there together for 42 years.
During those 42 years, Ellis never stopped seeking to grow in his faith. He studied the writings of men such as Andrew Murray, Oswald Chambers, J. Vernon McGee, and Bill Gothard. God blessed Ellis with the spiritual gift of prophesy, or what is sometimes referred to as the gift of discernment. He took this very seriously and felt compelled to apply his gift at every opportunity. As some of you may know, those who are blessed with the spiritual gift of prophesy can sometimes be guilty of trying to kill a fly with a sledgehammer. And Ellis was certainly no exception. But even when his attempts may have been flawed, his motive was always to do and be what the Lord would have him do and be.
More than anything in the world, it was Ellis’s deepest hope and desire that each member of his family would come to know and trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior. As we honor him here today, I know he would want everyone to hear the good news of the gospel. He would want everyone here to know that Jesus died for their sins, and that if you repent and believe in him, you will have eternal life.
He would often talk about how “good is the enemy of the best.” And by that he meant that we should be careful not to think that our own good efforts can replace the perfect and divine work of Christ on the cross.
He was constantly seeking to die to self – his old sinful self – and allow Christ to live in Him. And he
constantly encouraged others to do the same.
He would often say, “It’s simple, but it’s not easy.” It’s a simple truth and we can know it and believe it. But it’s much harder to actually apply that truth to our own lives and live by it daily.
Ellis loved Jesus and delighted in learning and meditating on scripture. He particularly loved Psalm 1, which says:
“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruits in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but they are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord knows the righteous, but the way of the wicked perish.”
In his last days, Ellis found great comfort and hope in the 23rd Psalm. And after having been a Christian for more than 50 years, Ellis made the decision to be baptized, but the Lord took him home before arrangements could be made.
Just a few minutes before he passed away, Dawn was with Ellis. He took her hand lovingly and thanked her for all she had done for him. “What a life,” he said. As she left, she told him she’d see him tomorrow, and he said okay. What a life, indeed. And now, we celebrate knowing that Ellis has begun the beautiful, epic journey of eternal life with the Lord he loved.