Almeda Ellard, 87, of Alderson, WV passed away peacefully on Aug. 20, 2026, with her son and granddaughter by her side, at Peyton Hospice House in Lewisburg, WV. Left to remember her love and laughter are her son, Ray Ellard, grandchildren Katherine Poloczek and husband Nicolas Poloczek and Bethany Ellard-Richmond and husband Thor Richmond, as well as her beloved cat Meow Meow. She is also remembered by her nephew Matthew Workman, cousin Mary Brown, niece Barbara Bowles, sister-in-law Kitty Ellard, and several additional cousins, nephews, family, and friends.
She was preceded in death by her faithful husband of 64 years Raymond Ellard, cherished daughter-in-law Sandra Ellard, loved brother Dennis Workman, mother Virginia Harnest Ely, father Buford Burns, grandparents Nell (her beloved Maw) and Guy Harnest, several aunts who remained close to her, and many, many spoiled dogs and cats.
Almeda was exceptionally beautiful, inside and out, to the point that others constantly remarked on it her entire life. She refused these compliments adamantly, never understanding what the fuss was about. Her radiance also flowed into her ability to make her surroundings elegant, as she had a knack for decorating her home with antiques, painting her walls, making her plants thrive, arranging flowers, hammering on furniture, and working hard landscaping, to the point that her family teased her about how much she liked digging in the dirt and burning brush piles. She kept house with such precision that she even used to iron her husband’s handkerchiefs.
Balancing this beauty was both a toughness of soul and lightness of spirit. She survived chronic kidney disease for almost 30 years, with many of those years on dialysis. She met this challenge with remarkable resilience, toughness, and independence, never letting setbacks get her down for too long. Her lightness was embodied by her ability to laugh often and loudly, both at others and herself. Whether she was saying something hilariously terrible or lovingly sweet, she brightened up a room either way.
Her loving care was often expressed through feeding any living creature in her presence. She did not actually enjoy cooking but regularly did so, and with great skill, in order to bring others joy and comfort. Of special note were her cream cheese pound cakes, lasagna big enough to feed a small army, biscuits and gravy, strong coffee, and the best potato soup and cast-iron cornbread in the entire world.
She was a member of the Mt. View Methodist Church until its closure and often embodied her faith through singing some of her favorite gospel songs by her favorites Elvis and The Gaithers, including “How Great Thou Art,” “He Touched Me,” and “Just a Little Talk With Jesus”. She had an encyclopedic knowledge of classic rock and roll and pop music as well.
To her grandchildren, she was Nan, and she was the joy and lightness of their young lives, playing, dancing, feeding, shopping, and providing care and comfort for them in all ways.
She was extremely generous, wanting to constantly give others gifts and worrying about others in need, with an intuition for knowing when something was wrong. That generosity and care were given back to her through a circle of fellow strong, loving women that the family would like to thank for helping her in recent years and recent days – Tiffany, Tracy, Peggy, and Jess with dialysis; Kim, Morgan, Ebony and Jordan with hospice and Jennifer with palliative care; and Denise and Brandy, Morgan and Payton, Richie, Hannah, and Anna, and especially Kaitlyn with assisted living. We apologize for not being able to name everyone.
No services are planned at this time. In her selfless fashion, Almeda chose to donate her body to WVSOM. The family welcomes donations in her memory to be given to the Greenbrier County Humane Society. Her family misses seeing her glow, but the warmth she left behind will live forever.
Please send online condolences by visiting www.WallaceandWallaceFH.com
