Mr. William Thomas “Butch” Ellis, 76, went to be with his Lord on Friday, March 15, 2019 surrounded by his loving family at his residence.
Funeral services will be conducted Monday at 11:00 A.M. at First United Pentecostal Church of Columbia, 955 Baker Road, Columbia, TN with Pastor Telford Tharp and Brother Jason Keyser officiating. Burial will follow in Polk Memorial Gardens. The family will visit with friends Sunday from 4:00 – 8:00 P.M. at the church. Oakes & Nichols Funeral Directors are assisting the family with arrangements and condolences may be extended online at www.oakesandnichols.com.
Mr. Ellis was the son of the late William Samuel Ellis and the late Essie Mae Calloway Ellis. He was a graduate of Columbia Central High School and alumni of Martin Methodist College. He was in the first class that received a certificate from Vanderbilt School of Medicine, School of Allied Sciences as an Emergency Medical Technician. Mr. Ellis’ EMT number in the state was #13, where he was a 40-year employee with The Emergency Medical Service.
Mr. Ellis was a coach and was on the Board of Directors for Pop Warren Football for several years. He received The Service Above Self Award in 1999 from The Columbia Rotary Club.
Mr. Ellis was a charter member of The Tennessee Ambulance Service Association. He was an active member of First United Pentecostal Church of Columbia, being in the choir, usher and on the Board of Directors for several years. He loved fishing, old cars and trucks, and was an avid collector of knives.
Mr. Ellis is survived by his wife of 54 years, Melissa Henderson Ellis; son, William Stephen (Tracy) Ellis; daughter, Karen A. (Steven) Ellis-Hood; grandchildren, Heather (Bobby) McMillin, Cody Bolton, Tanner Ellis, Jamie (Rex) Carroll, Cameron Hanvy, Taylor Ellis, Tatum Ellis; great grandchildren, Hayden Bolton, Alyssa Potts, and Ava McMillin; sister, Patricia Ann Smith; sisters-in-law, Malinda (Alvin) Luna, Faye (Henry) Miller, and Mary Anne Balcer; and niece, Amy (Harold) Hinson.
Active pallbearers will be his grandsons and nephews, Cody Bolton, Tanner Ellis, Taylor Ellis, Cameron Hanvy, Sam Hinson, Dave Cummins, Willie Cummins, Brian Schmitz, Tyler Luna, and Bobby McMillin. Honorary pallbearers include past and present Maury Regional EMS, past and present usher team members of First United Pentecostal Church of Columbia, the staff of Hospice Compassus, Larry Powell, Tom Maxwell, Briggs Primm, Doug Anderson, George Whitwell, Glenn Nix, Carl Voss, Hank Woosley, John Markham, Dr. Stephen Simmons, Jackie Rowland, and Willie Adams.
