Ernest Denver Sells, 93

Ernie passed peacefully and without pain March 1, 2021, with his daughter by his side. Ernest “Ernie” Denver Sells, 93, was born Jan. 24, 1928, in Sherwood, Tenn., to Johnnie and Angeline (Smith) Sells.

Ernest attended school in Sherwood, Cowan, Sewanee, and Winchester, Tenn. Ernest joined the U.S. Army at 17 years old and went to basic training at Fort McClellen, Ala. He served in the Pacific Theater during World War II as a sniper, earning sharpshooter and expert marksman awards. He returned to Tennessee after the war and married Lila Cook in Rossville, Ga., on Dec. 4, 1948.

Ernie drove the school bus for his brother and owned a service station in Winchester, Tenn., before moving his family permanently to Troy in 1958. He went to work for J. Neils Lumber Co. and started for the U.S. Forest Service in 1959. He spent 30 years serving as trail boss, crew boss, fire boss, defensive driving trainer, fire spotter, tree planter, and, finally, road designer and timber sale planner for Forest Service Zone III Engineering.

Ernie’s service on the Troy Volunteer Ambulance as an EMT spanned three decades. He was a lifetime member of the NRA and was an avid hunter with several trophies on display at Steins Market in Troy.

Ernie was also a life member of Troy’s John E. Freeman Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5514. He was a high five bowler on leagues at Trojan Lanes for several decades. He was a member of the Assembly of God Church in Troy for many years.

He loved music, gardening, flowers, birds, fishing, hunting, hiking, mushroom and berry picking, firewood gathering, and just about everything else that can be done in his beloved Montana mountains. He enjoyed traveling, telling his stories, and writing songs.

He was preceded in death by parents, Johnnie and Angeline Sells; his brothers, John, Buddy, Elbert and James Sells; sisters, Ruth Wallace, Annie Pauline and Beulah Short; his wife, Lila; and his daughter, Carolyn Stanley.

He is survived by daughter and son-in-law, Carene and Mark Cratty of Troy; granddaughters, Danelle Stanley of California and Dana Stanley of Tennessee; great-grandchildren JT Klod of California, Katie Stowe of California and Tyler Stanley of Tennessee; brother, George Hoyett Sells of Indiana; sister, Polly Ann Strope of Tennessee; and many nieces, nephews, adopted grandchildren and dear friends.

He never met a stranger.

Visitation will be held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., March 5 at Schnackenberg Funeral Home in Libby. Services will be held at 11 a.m., March 6 at Troy Assembly of God Church with Pastor Terry Meroney officiating. Graveside service will be held at Troy Cemetery with military honors and a luncheon back at the Assembly of God immediately following.

A memorial service in Winchester, Tenn., is planned for a later date.

Arrangements are by Schnackenberg Funeral Home in Libby. Online condolences and memories may be shared at www.schnackenbergfh.com.