Nathaniel Ellis Cannady

Nathaniel Ellis Cannady, Jr passed away quietly on November 26, 2019, at the Laurels of GreenTree Ridge, in Asheville, following a brief period of declining health.

Cannady was born on April 3, 1920, to Ora Wootten Cannady and Nathaniel Ellis Cannady, in Oxford, NC. Ellis was preceded in death by both parents and sisters, Mary Young Outten, of Winston-Salem, NC, and Anne Cole of Henderson, NC, as well as his wife of 64 years, Francis Maxine Parnell Cannady.

Nathaniel Ellis Cannady, known as “Ellis” to friends and as “Junior” to his immediate family, was born and raised in Oxford in 1920. He graduated from Oxford High School in 1937, and attended a college preparatory military school, before completing a degree in Electrical Engineering at NC State University in 1943. His pursuit of this field of study was influenced by his father’s pioneering work in the development and standardization of electrical codes in North Carolina; Ellis Sr. implemented the licensing board for electrical contractors for the State of North Carolina and was the first State Electrical Inspector. During WWII, Ellis served as a Captain in the Army Air Corps in China where he managed a team of codebreakers. In Salt Lake City, Ellis met his future wife, Fran, en route to his deployment to the Pacific theater and hers to New Guinea, where she was a WAC nurse. They maintained a letter correspondence through their respective deployments during WWII, and married in 1946.

Following his military service, Ellis returned to NC State University where he acquired a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering. He worked in Underwriter’s Laboratories in Long Island, NY from 1949 to 1951 before returning to North Carolina where he accepted a job with M.B. Haynes Electric Corporation in Asheville. Ellis became the president of M.B. Haynes in 1966 following the death of his business partner, M.B. “Gump” Haynes, Jr. Over the course of his time there, M.B Haynes Electric Corporation grew from 25 employees to nearly 650 through a combination of steady growth and diversification. He once said “I wanted to do well enough to take good care of the employees, because I knew if I could do that, the employees would take good care of the company.” His legacy and working philosophy have evolved as Haynes began an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in 2012.

Ellis was employed by M.B. Haynes well into his 90s where he came to work daily and continued working with his sons, Buzzy and Brett, who assumed roles of President and Executive Vice President, respectively. Grandson, Phillip Cannady, now works at Haynes and will continue the Cannady presence there. In addition to Ellis’ passion for the work and the company, he served on the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the National Electrical Code (NEC) Committee, for 22 years. He received several awards and has been widely recognized for his philanthropic contributions.

He is survived by three generations of Cannadys: his and Fran’s children, Lynne (David Ford) of Sacramento, CA; NE Cannady III “Buzzy” (Melissa Moore), and Brett (Angie), all from Asheville; grandchildren, Lindsay Stewart (Peter), of Charlotte; Phillip Cannady (Emily), of Asheville; Jill Fernandez (John), of Bluffton, SC; Jessica Cannady and Melissa Bennett (Lauren), from Asheville; as well as great-grandchildren, Pete and Brooks Stewart, of Charlotte, Brett and Emerson Cannady, of Asheville, and Annabelle Fernandez ,of Bluffton, SC. Ellis also leaves behind Lucille Gunter, of Asheville. Their friendship began with caregiving Fran near the end of her life and they continued as best friends and companions until his death.

A celebration of his life will be held on Friday, December 6, at 11:00 a.m., at First Baptist Church of Asheville.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to ABCCM’s Transformation Village Project, 20 Twentieth St. Asheville, NC 28806.

Groce Funeral Home on Patton Avenue is assisting the family.