Frederick (Fred) Ellis Wellman was born January 23, 1944 to Ellis Randall Wellman and Dexie Ireson Wellman in Belle, West Virginia. He passed away in Fairfax County, Virginia on September 1, 2026.

Fred lost his father to tuberculosis at age 5 and grew up with his mother and brother in Phoenix, Arizona. He attended Phoenix North High School, graduating in 1962. He began his college studies at Phoenix College, completing an Associate’s degree in 1969, then transferred to Arizona State University, where he graduated in 1971. He met Kerilyn Shottenkirk in Phoenix and they married on June 3, 1967. He would often tell his daughters and sons-in-law that he and Kerilyn were the first couple married at the then-new Camelback Church of Christ. Kerilyn survives him, as do two daughters - Deborah and Emily.

Fred served 22 years in the National Guard — 6 years in the Arizona Army National Guard and 16 years in the West Virginia Air National Guard. He retired from the Guard in 1993.

Fred worked for Motorola as a draftsman from 1964 to 1972, including projects supporting the Apollo program. He was with IBM from 1972 to 1990, working to support IBM mainframes for federal government clients. During this time Fred and Kerilyn raised their daughters primarily in Middletown, Maryland. Possessing a top secret clearance, Fred traveled extensively for his work, visiting locations such as Hawaii, Germany, and South Korea. Once he visited Panmunjom, South Korea (DMZ), where he briefly crossed into North Korea around a diplomatic conference table. In 1984, while working for IBM, Fred obtained his Masters of Business Administration degree from Frostburg State. Later, after moving back to Scottsdale, Arizona, he worked for an IBM contractor providing technical assistance for some of these same mainframes he had originally helped to support.

Fred was proud to be part of the Cyrus family of West Virginia and Kentucky, with whom he reconnected later in life. He attended the Memorial Day family reunion in Louisa, Kentucky over several years after retiring to Ranson, West Virginia.

Fred was a long-time member of the Church of Christ, serving at the Frederick congregation in Frederick, Maryland; at Camelback and North Valley in Arizona; and at Charles Town and Central (Martinsburg) in West Virginia.

Fred is survived by his wife Kerilyn, Deborah and Chris Horton, Emily and Kile Thompson, and four grandsons, Logan James and Luke Frederick Thompson and Zachary Ellis and Landon Noel Horton. He is also survived by his brother Randall Wellman, sisters-in-law Jeanine Wellman and Julie Beste, and two nieces, Suzanne O’Malley (Kevin) and Stacey Wellman.

A memorial service will be announced later.

Memorial contributions in Fred’s memory may be made to the American Heart Association.