William Talbott Ellison, Jr. was born in Staunton,
Virginia, on September 12, 1950. He attended the Waynesboro public schools through
the eighth grade and graduated in 1969 from Fishburne Military School. He attended
Belmont Abbey College where he majored in Political Science. Brother Ellison started
working for the City of Waynesboro Public Works Department during the summer of 1967,
and after college, returned to work for the city advancing to the position of
Superintendent of Public Works Operations until his retirement in 2007.
Brother Ellison was made a Master Mason in Lee Lodge No. 209
on April 17, 1979. He is a Life Member in Perpetuity and served as its Worshipful Master
in 1984. He has served as Lodge Secretary since 1995. He was appointed District Deputy
Grand Master of Masonic District No. 19 in 1995, Grand Senior Steward in 1997,
Administrative Assistant to the Grand Master in 2001, Grand Provost in 2003, and
was elected Grand Junior Deacon in 2006. He has been a member of the Grand Lodge
Committee on Finance since 1999. He is currently serving as the Grand Representative
of the Grand Lodge of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, near Virginia.
Right Worshipful Brother Ellison holds Life Membership
in Perpetuity in several Lodges both within and without the Commonwealth of Virginia.
He holds membership in the Valley of Lynchburg, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite;
Life membership in Waynesboro Union Chapter No. 2, Royal Arch Masons; Life membership
in Stevenson Commandery No. 8, Knights Templar; Acca Shrine Center, A.A.O.N.M.S. where
he is the Treasurer and Past Captain of the Hillbilly Unit; Valley Council No. 56,
Allied Masonic Degrees; Masonic Order of the Bath; Antient Order of the Corks;
the Scottish Rite Research Society; the Southern California Lodge of Research; and
the Philalethes Society. He is a Life Member of DeMolay International and is
the Secretary/Treasurer of the Virginia DeMolay Foundation, Inc. Brother Ellison is
a recipient of the City of Waynesboro Public Service Award, the Legion of Honor
from DeMolay International, and the John Blair, Jr. Service Medal from the Grand Lodge of Virginia.
Brother Ellison has been married to the former Wanda
Kay Falls for thirty-one years. They are the parents of a daughter, Ashley Marie, who
is married to Brother Brian L. Flock, a member of Lee Lodge No. 209. He is an active
member of Grace Lutheran Church.
