William Christopher Ellixson

William (“Bill”) Christopher Ellixson, Sr.

Rockledge, FL – Bill passed away surrounded by family on September 9, 2026 at 5:45 am at the age of 90. He is survived by his wife Marita, son William Christopher Ellixson, Jr. of Eustis, FL, son Stephen Craig Ellixson of Harrisburg, PA, son Devin Christopher Ellixson of Melbourne, FL and daughter Kaye Frances Ellixson of Berlin, MD.

Bill was born in 1936 in Rossmore, WV, where his father James worked as an electrician in the coal mines. From there the family moved to Switzer, WV, where Bill and his six brothers and two sisters went to school and attended Logan High School. At 17, he enlisted in the Air Force, just in time to still be considered a Korean War Era Vet. After 8 years of service, he left the service as a Staff Sergeant and started driving for Greyhound Bus Lines, raising his two oldest sons. He drove for Greyhound for over 30 years, but you could not take the bus out of the driver, so he continued working for little charter companies after that.

He loved homeschooling his two youngest in his retirement years and tending the small farm they had in Baker, FL, until Marita's job pulled them first to Warner Robins, GA and finally to Melbourne, FL.

Bill was proud to be both a Mason and Shriner, always supporting the Shriner's Children's hospital, along with the Gary Sinise Foundation and Wounded Warrior Project. In lieu of flowers, he would appreciate a donation to either of these charities.

As a final thought, here is a Facebook post Bill posted about eight years ago: “I'm from West Virginia where a Hollow is called a holler. We ain't got 'fireflies,' we got 'lightning bugs.' We ain't got 'crawfish,' we got 'crawdads.' Taters are mandatory. 'Yall' is a proper noun. Chicken is fried. Biscuits come with gravy. Sweet tea is the house wine, and ya never ever disrespect ya elders.”

A Memorial Service will be held at Faith Fellowship Church, 2820 Business Center Drive, Melbourne, FL 32940 on Friday, September 18, 2026, at 11:00 a.m.