We as a family have lived in the Nabesna area for three generations. Devils Mountain Lodge was established in the 1950’s by Bill and Lorene Ellis, originally from Texas who moved to Alaska to make a better life for their family.
Bill was one of the early pioneer bush pilots and guides in the state. He developed a reputation for his exceptional flying and aircraft mechanical skills, along with building a successful guiding business hunting sheep, moose, and bear.
Lorene, a woman of incredible strength and wisdom, was the backbone of the business. With the help of Athabascan native, Jack John who lived nearby, she learned self-reliance and how to survive in the Alaskan wilderness. She raised her four boys, Terry, Lynn, Cole and Kirk with tenacity, often alone when Bill was away on guiding trips.
Kirk Ellis, the youngest of Lorene Ellis’s four children, was raised in Nabesna from the age of two. Kirk learned to guide and fly at an early age. He also learned the aircraft mechanic skills passed on from his father. Kirk has a deep and abiding love and respect for this area of Alaska that he calls home, and together with his wife Gennie raised their four children. Kirk has thousands of Alaskan hours flying time and over 40 years of experience in the guiding business.
Gennie moved from Texas to Alaska in 1966 at age nine with her mother and brother. Her mother happened to meet, and later marry Jack John when he attended a gathering in the lower 48, the very one who befriended the Ellis family at Nabesna. Gennie learned to trap and run a dog team and began working at Ellis’ during hunting season. Kirk and Gennie married in 1976 and while they inherited the family business after Bill Ellis, had four children, Isaac, Amanda, Zoe and Emily. All children minus one still presently work for the family businesses.
