William E. Ellis

William Edwin Ellis, 90, of Prosperity died peacefully on Wednesday, January 18, 2017.

He was born in Scotia, S.C. to the late Lamar and Alma Pauline Ellis. After being orphaned at 12, he moved to Columbia with sister Emma Bell Ellis and Graduated from Columbia High School.

With war coming, he joined the Marines and traveled all over until he reached Okinawa. There he endured fierce fighting that haunted him the rest of his life. He was preparing for the Japanese invasion when word came the attack was off. Only later did he learn it was because the bombs had been deployed. He was discharged at year's end.

He graduated from Carson Newman College after attending on the G.I. Bill and began work in Charlotte, N.C. Where he ran one of the first public Drivers Education classes. He began to feel the call from the church and left for Greenwood First Baptist Church. He moved back to Columbia a few years later. He served as Principal of Lower Richland and Head Teacher at A.C. Flora and obtained a Masters degree from the University of South Carolina. He joined the S.C. State Dept. of Education and also began a new program to get D. Ed from Teachers College of New York. He and his family moved there for 6 weeks. We went to the World's Fair, Broadway shows, Prime Rib at Jack Dempsey's, daily trips to the Corner Deli, and everything a big city had to offer. He later joined the U.S. Department of Education in Washington.

Columbia came calling again but this time they moved to lake Murray, their long time dream. Ed busied himself with teaching at King Academy, helped Saluda County raise money needed to build badly needed schools, cared for his granddaughters, and was a WLTX Weather Watcher. Eventually he joined WESTAT, a testing service, and once again traveled the state until his health failed.

Ed was a blessed man, faithfully attending First Baptist Church of Newberry for 27 years and Helped Dreher Island Baptist Church get its start. He was blessed with many friends and wonderful neighbors, and being able to sit on the porch with the sunrise and his birds and watching the lake and the Geese.

He is survived by a daughters, Ann L. Ellis and her daughter Emma Ellis of the home, Dr. M.E. Ellis of New York City; a son, Bill Ellis of Greenville and his daughter Eliza Ellis of Lexington; former daughter-in-law, Cathy and Tim Monetti of Lexington; a brother, Marion Ellis of Leawood, KS; sister-in-law, Joye (Joe) Ferrill of Poplarville, MS; cousin, Virginia and Howard Price of Columbia; and other family members in New Jersey and Kansas. Ed was predeceased by his wife, Louise Dean Ellis; a son, SSGT Dean Ellis.

Services will be held, Monday, January 23, 2017 at 11:00 am at First Baptist Church. Interment will be at 3:00 PM at Greenlawn Memorial Park in Columbia. Visitation will be Friday, January 20, 2017 at McSwain-Evans Funeral Home in Newberry from 4:00 until 7:00 PM. Memorials may be made to The Ed Ellis Sunday School Class c/o First Baptist Church, 1020 Boundary Street, Newberry, 29108, Pretty Place at Camp Greenville, 4399 Camp Road, Cleveland, SC 29635 or the Gideons, PO Box 795, Newberry, SC 29108.

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