This is a list of people from Ellis County,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

, United States. Inclusion on the list should be reserved for notable people past and present who have resided in the county, either in cities or rural areas.

Academics

* Maurice L. Albertson, former head of the Colorado State University Research Foundation * Petrowitsch Bissing, violin instructor *

Nola Ochs Nola Ochs (née Hill) (November 22, 1911 – December 9, 2016) was an American woman, from Jetmore, Kansas, who in 2007, at age 95, graduated from college and was certified by Guinness World Records as the oldest person in the world to become a co ...

, world's oldest college graduate, from

Fort Hays State University Fort Hays State University (FHSU) is a public university in Hays, Kansas. It is the fourth-largest of the six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents, with a total enrollment of approximately 15,100 students. History FHSU w ...

"95-Year-Old Woman Graduates from College"
ABC News. Retrieved October 14, 2008

Arts and entertainment

Rob Beckley Robert Benjamin "Rob" Beckley (born August 20, 1975) is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the Christian rock band Pillar (band), Pillar, which was voted Best Hard Rock Band in ''CCM Magazines 2006 Reader's Choice Awards. Beckley started ...

, musician * Robert Bogue, actor *

Rebecca Staab Rebecca Ann Staab is an American actress. Early life Staab won the Miss Nebraska USA title and competed in the Miss USA 1980 pageant that year, where she placed in the Top 12. Acting career Before becoming an actress, Staab was a model fo ...

, actress * Michael Wittig, member of the Dove Award-winning and Grammy-nominated Christian hard rock band

Pillar A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

Athletics

:''See also

List of Fort Hays State Tigers head football coaches The Fort Hays State Tigers football program is a college football team that represents Fort Hays State University in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, a part of NCAA Division II. The team has had 23 head coaches since its fir ...

'' * Greg Anderson, personal trainer of Barry Bonds * Monty Basgall, coach for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

Ken Crandall Ken Crandall (born November 6, 1967) is an American football coach and former player. He was most recently the head football coach for the Southwestern College Moundbuilders in Winfield, Kansas and was the 28th person to hold that position. Pr ...

, head football coach for the

Southwestern Moundbuilders The Southwestern Moundbuilders are the athletic teams that represent Southwestern College (Kansas), Southwestern College, located in Winfield, Kansas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics ...

Steve Crosby Steven Kent Crosby (born July 3, 1950) is an American former professional football coach and player. He spent 33 years in the National Football League (NFL)—3 as a player, 4 as a scout and 26 as a coach. Crosby was named the NFL Special Teams ...

, National Football League player and coach *

Elon Hogsett Elon Chester "Chief" Hogsett (November 2, 1903 – July 17, 2001) was a professional baseball pitcher who threw with a left-handed submarine motion. He played in Major League Baseball from 1929 to 1938 plus a final season in 1944, appearing in 3 ...

, professional baseball player *

Tony Leiker Tony Leiker (born September 26, 1964) is a former defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). Biography Leiker was born Anthony Wade Leiker in Hays, Kansas. Career Leiker was drafted in the seventh round of the 1987 NFL Draft by the Gr ...

, NFL defensive end *

Tom Matukewicz Thomas M. Matukewicz ( ; born August 5, 1973), also known as "Coach Tuke", is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at Southeast Missouri State University. Matukewicz was formerly the defensive coordinator coach at the Univer ...

, head football coach of the

Northern Illinois Huskies The Northern Illinois Huskies are the athletic teams that represent Northern Illinois University (NIU). The Huskies are a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The athleti ...

Tim McCarty Tim McCarty is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Western Heights High School in Oklahoma City. McCarty served two stints as the head football coach at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, from 2004 ...

, college football coach * Les Miller, National Football League player *

Frankie Neal Frankie Leon Neal (born October 1, 1965) is an American former college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for a single season in 1987. Neal played college football for the University ...

, player for the Green Bay Packers *

Willard Schmidt Willard Raymond Schmidt (May 29, 1928 – March 22, 2007) was an American professional baseball player, a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball between 1952 and 1959. Listed at , , Schmidt batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Hays, ...

, professional baseball player

Business

* Philip Anschutz, business magnate *

Walter Chrysler Walter Percy Chrysler (April 2, 1875 – August 18, 1940) was an American industrial pioneer in the automotive industry, American automotive industry executive and the founder and namesake of American Chrysler Corporation. Early life Chrysler wa ...

, founder of the Chrysler Corporation

Crime

Robert Courtney Robert Courtney may refer to: * Robert Courtney (fraudster) * Robert Courtney (Paralympian) Robert George Courtney (27 April 1959 – 28 January 2016) was a champion New Zealand Paralympian. Early life Born on 27 April 1959, Courtney spent ...

, pharmacist convicted for pharmaceutical fraud

Folklore

* Elizabeth Polly, the so-called "Blue Light Lady"

Journalism

John L. Allen Jr. John L. Allen Jr. (born January 20, 1965) is an American journalist and author who serves as editor of the Catholic news website ''Crux'', formerly hosted by ''The Boston Globe'' and now independently funded. Before moving to ''The Boston Globe ...

, journalist *

Melissa McDermott Melissa McDermott is a former reporter for CBS News. She is best known for being an anchor of the overnight CBS newscast, ''Up to the Minute''. Biography Melissa McDermott is the daughter of Country Music Disc Jockey's Hall of Fame member and lo ...

, news anchor

Politics

Jeff Colyer Jeffrey William Colyer (born June 3, 1960) is an American surgeon and politician who served as the 47th governor of Kansas from January 31, 2018, to January 14, 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 49th lieutenant governor of Kansa ...

Lieutenant Governor of Kansas The lieutenant governor of Kansas is the second-ranking member of the executive branch of Kansas state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket with the governor for a four-year term. The lieutenant governor succeeds to the off ...

Sheila Frahm Sheila Frahm (née Sloan; born March 22, 1945) is an American politician who served in the United States Senate as a Republican from Kansas for a brief period in 1996. Life and career Frahm was born in Colby, Kansas. She was appointed to the Kans ...

, United States Senator * Kathryn O'Loughlin McCarthy,

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from Kansas *

Jerry Moran Gerald Wesley Moran ( ; born May 29, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician who is the senior United States senator from Kansas, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was chair of the National Republican Senator ...

, U.S. Senator from Kansas *

Andrew Frank Schoeppel Andrew Frank Schoeppel (November 23, 1894 – January 21, 1962) was an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He was the 29th governor of Kansas from 1943 to 1947 and a U.S. Senator from 1949 until his death. He was born in 18 ...

, 29th Governor of Kansas * Frances Tilton Weaver, feminist legal pioneer

Religion

* Virgil C. Dechant, twelfth Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus *

Firmin Martin Schmidt Firmin Martin Schmidt (October 12, 1918 - August 4, 2005) was a Roman Catholic bishop. Born in Catharine, Kansas, United States, Schmidt was ordained a priest for the Capuchin order on June 2, 1946. On April 3, 1959, he was appointed prefect of Men ...

, Roman Catholic bishopFirmin Martin Schmidt
/ref>

References

{{Ellis County, Kansas Ellis County *