WILLIAM H. "BILLY" ELLIS
May 11, 1927-Oct. 2, 2011
POULSBO, Wash. -- William H. "Billy" Eliis, 84, member of a prominent Goldsboro family, died Sunday at home.
Mr. Ellis was born May 11, 1927, to the late Virginia Earp Eliis and John Brantley Ellis.
He was a graduate of Goldsboro High School, where he was an all-state football player.
He left high school shortly before his graduation when he was called to active duty by the Marine Corps, but his diploma was presented to his parents at the graduation exercises in 1945.
His is survived by three sons, Bill Jr. and his wife, Connie, of Edmonds, Wash., Gary and his wife, Judy, of Black Mountain and David and his wife, Jeanette of Vanceboro and Belhaven; two daughters, Barbara Ellis-Danford and her husband, Michael of Suquamish, Wash., and Patricia Nausid and her husband, Douglas, of Ketchikan, Alaska; 10 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Also surviving are four brothers, James of Reno, Nev., Jerry of Huntsville, Ala., Larry of Goldsboro and Stephen of Elm City, and a sister, Dorothy Gower of Folsom, Calif.
He was preceded in death by his wife, the former Barbara Denise, also a former Goldsboro resident, and a granddaughter.
He was also predeceased by his parents; six brothers, John, Edward, Robert, Charles, Thomas and Richard "Bud" Ellis; and a sister, Carolyn Mumm of Goldsboro.
Mr. Ellis continued to make his home in the Pacific northwest after retiring in 2002 to conclude a distinguished career in government science.
He was a member of the United States Marine Corps in the latter stages of World War II, after which he joined the Coast Guard, from which he retired as a master chief petty officer.
He subsequently worked in a number of senior civilian positions in federal agencies, and was based at Bangor, Wash., missile submarine base in his last assignment.
Interment will be in Tahoma National Cemetery in Auburn, Wash.
Final arrangements are pending.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on October 4, 2011 1:53 PM