2 Watauga Co. schools to dismiss early for funeral of 14-year-old killed in farming accident

WATAUGA COUNTY, N.C. (WBTV) - Funeral services will take place this week for a 14-year-old boy who was killed on Dec. 30 after the tractor he was operating overturned in Watauga County.

The family will of Cole Ellis will receive friends on Tuesday, from 5 to 9 p.m., at Alliance Bible Fellowship in Boone, according to an obituary from Austin & Barnes Funeral Home and Crematory.

Funeral services are being held on Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Alliance Bible Fellowship.

Officials with Watauga County Schools announced that Mabel and Cove Creek schools will dismiss at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 4, to allow students and staff to attend the funeral.

Flexibility will be given to students and staff at other schools who wish to attend, according to a tweet from the district.

Mabel and Cove Creek will dismiss at noon on Jan. 4 to allow students and staff to attend the funeral service. Flexibility will be given to students and staff at all other schools who also wish to attend. Please continue to keep this family and community in your prayers. https://t.co/YPnOe3s53c
— Watauga County Schools (@WataugaSchools) January 1, 2023

According to the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office, a 911 caller reported that they had seen a tractor slide down a steep hill and then roll over in a field off of Highway 421 near Laurel Branch Road on Friday, Dec. 30.

Officials identified the boy as Cole Ellis of the Sugar Grove community.

He had been feeding cattle in the field when the tractor lost traction and overturned.

In a press release, the sheriff’s office said that “our thoughts and prayers are with the Ellis family as this incident has rocked our entire community.”

“In his brief 14 years here on earth, Cole touched many lives as a young farmer,” the obituary read in part. “Ever ready to lend a hand, he would gladly step up to any farming challenge. He was most certainly an old soul in a young man’s body.”