Greg Ellison & Nikki need help 4 Debbie's Funeral

I’m writing this assisting my dear friend Greg Ellison and his daughter Nikki to say goodbye to his recently departed wife, Debbie Lynn Ellison. Greg is hopefully recovering from kidney failure and trying to get back to work. He needs help with all the bills that are threatening their existence.

Greg’s daughter Nikki, reached out just before Christmas that Greg wasn’t doing well and was in Westminster General with kidney failure. I left work early and drove up that night. 2 days after seeing Greg at the hospital, Nikki found mom at home in their rental, deceased. Greg was helpless in his hospitable bed as a distraught Nikki had to deal with Debbie’s remains.

A little background: I met Greg in 1979 at American University where as freshmen we would find all sorts of ways to have fun. He became a lifelong friend and helped to land my first job post college at EF Hutton (who remembers that failed enterprise that seemed to encompass some of the follies of the 80’s). From there our career path diverged for a while until I found a home at Discovery Communications in their new building in Silver Spring. Greg was a long term fixture having worked his way up from the Mailroom in Bethesda to managing the Library at DCTC.

Sometime later Greg left Discovery and had to reinvent himself. He landed a sales position at Koon’s Mazda. Who knew but he was good at it, selling a well valued product to folks that needed a good machine. He was one of their top salesmen When 95% of the sales team was let go during COVID, Greg survived the onslaught and continued to sell.

During all of this, Greg’s rock was his wife Debbie…. As he says his BFF forever. They met at a stargazing scenario in Silver Spring in the 80’s I was Greg’s best man at his Wheaton based wedding in the 92 and was excited when they welcomed their sole offspring, Nichole Elizabeth Ellison on the 14th of April in 1997.

And that is where my ask comes from…. Greg and Nikki need help with mounting bills and the big expense of cremation and how to celebrate Debbie’s life.

Currently, Greg is waiting on the restart of his one hopefully functional kidney and then work up the strength to get back to selling cars.

But even more painful than his kidney stones, Greg is dealing with the loss of his best friend and right arm and partner of decades. He and Nikki will appreciate every penny anyone is able to spare.

In Greg’s words. “Debbie was the heart of our family and others. My daughters and my best friend. Somehow we will have to carry on without her, and I can only hope to make her proud of our efforts, and live up to her love of family and the animals she loved and rescued over time. We pray you are at peace, I will see you on the other side my lifelong love, and best friend. I will watch over our daughter Nicole for both of us.”