William Ellis

William D. Ellis, 78, of Renfrew passed away Sept. 28, 2019, after succumbing to complications from Parkinson’s disease.

William was born to William E. and Florence H. Tucker Ellis on Feb. 26, 1941, in Titusville.

“Butch,” as he was known to family and friends, graduated from Titusville High School in 1959. He graduated from Indiana (PA) State Teacher’s College in 1963 with a degree in physics education. Along the way, he met and fell in love with fellow education student Linda L. Hinds of Pittsburgh. They eloped and married in April 1964.

Bill was a beloved teacher at Butler High School for nearly 40 years. During that time, he developed and led the Honors A.P. Physics programs. In the early 1970s, he secured a large federal grant to purchase a state-of-the-art computer mainframe for the high school. This allowed Butler to become one of the first school districts in the nation to teach students how to use computers, long before personal computers were available. Over his career, he led many after-school science clubs and academic competition teams, supported the Golden Tornado Marching Band, and kept the main scorebooks for the Boy’s Basketball J.V. and Varsity squads.

He was also very active in his community. He facilitated youth groups at both St. Peter’s Episcopal and Hill U.P. Churches in Butler and served many years at the Session of the Hill Church. He also led Boy Scout Troop #19 in Meridian as committee chairman for nearly a decade.

Bill enjoyed fellowship with the Elks Lodge, North Hills Lodge #716 F&AM, the Valley of Pittsburgh Scottish Rite, and Syria Shrine.

Bill is survived by his wife, Linda Ellis; his children, Tamara Hyatt and her husband, Bill, Heather Uenking and her husband, Tom, and Todd Ellis and his wife, Allyson; his 10 grandchildren; his brother George “Jay” Ellis; and his sister, Myrna Sanford.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a sister, Lee Anne Loveless.

ELLIS — The family of William D. Ellis, who died Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019, will host a memorial service at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, 1019, at Hill United Presbyterian Church, 501 Second St., Butler. A Masonic memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you make a donation in his name to Hill Youth Ministries, care of the Hill U.P. Church at the above address.

The H. Jack Buzard Funeral Home is assisting the family with service arrangements.

To view or send condolences and to send flowers and sympathy cards, visit www.buzardfuneralhomes.com.