This article is part of our anniversary series, commemorating 30 years of JoyRx programs in 2025. This month, in honor of Father’s Day, we celebrate the steadfast work of Cliff Ellis, our co-founder and the loving father to Alexandra, Zachary, and Katherine Ellis.

To mark the anniversary, we’re also celebrating community support with commemorative custom bricks at the Alexandra Ellis Caring Cabin. Learn more here.

The beautiful grounds of the Alexandra Ellis Caring Cabin are never truly empty, even when the Cabin isn’t hosting JoyRx-served families. In a typical week, Wednesdays through Sundays are quite busy — as JoyRx-served families and their friends play and make cherished memories in twenty-four acres of JoyRx Nature in Pacific City, Oregon.

But Monday and Tuesday, the Caring Cabin welcomes a site manager who’s invested in keeping this wonderful place well cared for and fully stocked for arriving families.

That man is Cliff Ellis, the Caring Cabin site manager, co-founder of Children’s Cancer Association, and father of Alexandra Ellis, who died of cancer in 1995.

“The Caring Cabin is a dream come true. It really is,” said Cliff.

Whenever asked, Cliff is always quick to say just that — that the creation of this place was the realization of a dream and, he hopes, now a dream come true for the families who get to stay within its walls.

A man and child walk a path together. — A family walks along the path at the Caring Cabin. This path leads down to the private lake.

“The Caring Cabin was one of our original hopes and dreams on how we can give back to families,” he said. “It was a dream that started when my daughter Alex was going through treatment.”

Like the families who now visit the Caring Cabin, the Ellis family had the opportunity to stay at a retreat home as a family, away from the hospital.

“We were able to get away from treatment at a place where we could circle the wagons and feel like a normal family, recharge and rejuvenate, and keep going,” Cliff said. “We thought, ‘Wow, how can we give back what we’ve learned in these moments to other families?’”

Making the Dream a Reality

“We wanted to give back to families that were going through treatment like we were,” said Cliff. “We knew how important and valuable it was to have that space and have that time to just feel normal after going through dark moments.”

It became a critical focus for the team at Children’s Cancer Association to create a space designed with the needs of seriously ill children in mind. From the organization's founding in 1995, the Ellis Family knew they wanted to create such a destination for families.

When searching for the perfect site for the Caring Cabin, the staff began by examining established homes and vacation homes. Nothing matched their goals and vision, however, but that’s when a member of the Board of Directors stepped in.

Paul Gulick, Board Chair Emeritus 2008–2010, graciously donated a piece of property in Pacific City, Oregon.

Boat sitting at the edge of a lake, surrounded by trees. — View of the private lake from the shoreline.

“When we first got the property, it was just covered in trees and Scotch Broom,” said Cliff. But one thing was clear to the team: The property had incredible potential. “We decided, hey, let’s start from scratch and create the Caring Cabin from the ground up,” Cliff explained. “We built this great place out of the dirt.”

With the extraordinary gift of land making the dream a closer reality, the next question became about what is important to JoyRx-served families. What do they really want or need in a retreat and family vacation home?

Creating a Space Just for Families

Designing a vacation home that meets the needs of seriously ill children and their families, while offering inspiring respite, a connection to nature, and a place to create cherished memories, is not an easy endeavor.

“We were lucky enough to work with Bob Thompson of TVA Architects,” said Cliff, “who came to the table early on during our thought process.”

The focus was on what families going through treatment needed. The result was the unique architecture of the space, including three segmented buildings that cluster together to create the whole.

“That’s why the garage is not a garage, for example,” Cliff shared. “We call it the rec room because it’s a space just for kids to play, especially when the weather isn’t great.”

Another consideration for families grieving, trying to recharge, and looking for some peace during their getaway is a feature of the property: “Just a quiet space that wasn’t a living area, just a space where they could just get away. That’s the meditation pavilion.”

Exterior shot of a home. — A shot of the Caring Cabin’s backyard. What a view!

And the final piece of the puzzle: the main house and its use of open space to create a sprawling home with cozy touches, such as the centerpiece fireplace or a primary bedroom large enough to include a sick child who needs additional care.

On Bob Thompson’s website, he further outlines the intentional touches put into the inside and outside of the Caring Cabin:

“Over $1.2 million in donations, materials, and energy were donated to this project — the first of its kind in the western United States… Wrapped with glass walls, the corners of the pavilions allow connection with the outdoors via views of the lake and flood the exposed wood-framed interior spaces with the warmth of natural light.
A primary concern of Children’s Cancer Association was the elimination of toxic building materials and environmental sensitivity; therefore, finishes include natural stone, low-VOC paints, sealants, and adhesives, natural wool carpets, and formaldehyde-free wood products from sustainable sources.”

It took about eight years of planning before Children’s Cancer Association could break ground, but the first strike in the dirt arrived in 2003.

Breaking ground for the Caring Cabin began in 2003.

“We brought our ‘get it built’ team together and started construction,” Cliff said. “Took about three years because of the nature of the project — being remote, being on the coast, and so on… but it was so worth it.”

The Caring Cabin opened its doors in April 2006 and has been serving families ever since. To date, we’ve welcomed over 690 families to the Caring Cabin.

The Glamorous Work

No one was more thrilled by the Caring Cabin’s opening than Cliff, who began his work as the site manager.

Today, Cliff spends his time getting the Cabin ready for the next family scheduled to visit. This includes general organization and maintenance as needed. Cliff works with a professional cleaner who helps keep the Cabin sanitized and clean for families, especially with immunocompromised kids.

“It’s very glamorous,” he joked.

There’s one thing he loves most about his job, though.

“The first thing I always do is go straight to the guest book,” he said with a laugh.

Father and daughter look at the camera. — Cliff and his daughter Kate.

For Cliff, one of his favorite parts about serving as caretaker of the Caring Cabin is arriving on Monday and reading the guestbook entries that families leave behind as a reflection of their trip. He loves hearing all the joys and memories families make during their five-day stay, especially when the entries are from the kids themselves and not just the parents.

“They always say that their time here was so valuable and how important it was for their family to just feel normal again outside these difficult times,” said Cliff.

He enjoys cataloguing the activities and adventures families get up to. Off the top of his head, he knows families have encountered all sorts of wildlife like bald eagles, deer, squirrels, banana slugs, ducks, and so much more.

But one of the best comments he’s ever read from a child visitor?

“‘The Caring Cabin? Better than Disneyland!” Cliff recalled with a laugh. “Talk about a compliment!”

The Lasting Impact on Families

Alex and her brother Zach get up to some mischief together.

Hearing the fun stories in the entries is a welcome ritual to his Monday mornings, but Cliff also values the insights and heartfelt thoughts from the families who visit. Often, they’ll explain the impact the Caring Cabin has on them as a family.

One of the beautiful things for Cliff is understanding that families can come at all stages of their treatment journey. Unlike our other two programs, JoyRx Nature has more specific eligibility requirements, typically reserved for families undergoing cancer treatment or who are eligible for hospice care.

It makes for a significant and poignant interaction with the Cabin.

“People come here at the beginning of treatment when they’re just getting started and need that reassurance to keep going,” said Cliff. “Or they’ll come here amid the hardship and, having already gone through so much, need the chance to rejuvenate. And we’ve also had families who, unfortunately, their child is terminal, and they can come here to have moments to say goodbye and be together.”

We also host families who were scheduled to go to the Caring Cabin, and, unfortunately, their child died before their scheduled date. These memorial visits with the family are a chance to honor their young loved one and celebrate their life together as a family.

“I so admire these families,” said Cliff. “It’s powerful to see the families that choose to come here and to celebrate the life of their child.”

The Memory Stones

A longstanding tradition at the Caring Cabin, visitors are given a stone with their name, the date of their visit, and Alex’s Heart, Children’s Cancer Association’s rallying cry from the last drawing Alex drew before her death.

The children who visit the Caring Cabin are then able to place the stone anywhere on the pathway they wish. Over the years, more and more stones have been added to more and more places along that trail to the lake.

Stones with kid's names underneath a bench. — Some of the memory stones left exactly where the kids placed them.

“When we first started all those years ago, you’d see a stone here or there,” said Cliff. “And now, when you visit, and you walk down the path, there are hundreds of memory stones.”

Families who visit the Caring Cabin often speak about how powerful it is to see the stones, tangible proof of other kids and families who have been here before them.

“They have this moment of, ‘Wow, we’re not in this alone.’ They can look around and see the love and support from families who were here before them,” Cliff explained. “That’s what’s so valuable about the Caring Cabin. It’s what I’ve always wanted to give back to families going through this journey like mine.”

The way Cliff describes it, the stones have become part of the space and the very earth around them.

“Every time you walk down the path, you’ll see a memory stone in a nook or cranny of a tree or on an edge where you hadn’t seen it before… It’s pretty cool,” he said.

Cliff walks the path every week to clear debris from the surrounding trees, to check on the equipment at the lake, and perform other general maintenance. He’s walked the path for years, but he still delights in the journey — and in the new discoveries.

“I still find something new,” he said. “I always think, I’m just seeing this now? Wow! It’s amazing.”

In his time walking the path, Cliff has discovered many different places for stones. A lingering question he still has is the thought process each child has when picking a spot for their stone.

“There’s one up in a tree down by the lake, twelve or fifteen feet above the earth,” he said. “Like, how!”

He’s spent time investigating where stones get placed throughout the path. Sometimes, it seems stones cluster together like a group of friends. Kids who may be a little more introverted might pick a spot tucked away from the limelight. Children who love water might go near the lake. Those who love being at home might pick a spot near the Caring Cabin.

And even with the new discoveries of hidden spots, there’s also the consistency that Cliff appreciates, too. He’s come to know the names of the children on the path, the stones symbolizing their journey, their visit, and, sometimes, their death.

“There’s such power in seeing all those stones,” he said. “It means none of us are alone on this journey. We’re all here together.”

From a Father to his Daughter

Through the incredible pain that comes with the death and loss of a daughter, Cliff has found added purpose in helping families served by Children’s Cancer Association. For these families, who are going through similar journeys to Cliff’s own family’s experiences, it’s meaningful to help create lasting memories and joy for the children who visit.

“Alex showed us how we can still celebrate life even during difficult times,” said Cliff. “And we took that belief and used it to create the Caring Cabin. It came out of what we needed — and now it’s for what these families need.”

Sharing with families and helping families while they navigate this arduous journey is the entire point, Cliff says.

“It’s why we’re here.”

And that’s why, ultimately, the Caring Cabin is a dream come true for Cliff.

“I feel so much love and support for me and what we do and for Alex,” said Cliff. “It all started with my baby girl going through treatment. And here we are today.”

Today, we know that the continued success of the Caring Cabin and its lasting impact on the families who visit is in large part because of Cliff Ellis and his dedication, kindness, and deep love for this retreat he’s helped create.

“I can’t imagine being anywhere else or doing anything else,” he said gently. “This is what keeps me going. Knowing that we are making that impact on all these other families after all these years… it makes me content. I can’t wait to come back here every Monday to get the Cabin ready for the next family.”

Cliff, we are so grateful to you.

A Father’s Dream Realized: The Legacy of the Caring Cabin