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SR 249

A RESOLUTION adjourning the Senate in honor and loving memory of William Hartford Ellison.

2025 Regular Session

Ceremonial memorial resolution expressing the Senate's profound sympathy for William Hartford Ellison, adjourns the Senate in his honor and sends the resolution to his family.

adopted
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · SR 249

Summary — SR 249 (Memorial Resolution for William Hartford Ellison)

Status: Adopted
Introduced: March 11, 2025
Classification: Senate resolution (memorial)

Purpose

SR 249 is a Senate memorial resolution that expresses the body’s sympathy on the death of William Hartford Ellison and orders the Senate to adjourn in his honor. It is ceremonial and non‑binding — intended to recognize Mr. Ellison’s life and service and to communicate condolences to his family.

Key provisions

  • Section 1: The Senate formally expresses its “most profound sympathy” on the passing of William Hartford Ellison.
  • Section 2: The Senate will adjourn that day “in honor and loving memory” of Mr. Ellison.
  • Section 3: The Clerk of the Senate is directed to transmit a copy of the resolution to Senator Reginald Thomas for delivery to the family.

Biographical highlights included in the resolution

  • Born February 7, 1925, in Louisville, Kentucky; died January 1, 2025 (just weeks shy of his 100th birthday).
  • Early life: Raised by grandmother in Bagdad, Kentucky, and later in Louisville and Lexington; attended Constitution School, Russell School, and the original Dunbar High School.
  • Military service: Drafted into the U.S. Navy July 4, 1943; served in World War II (stations included Hitchcock, TX; San Bruno, CA; Subic Bay, Philippines); present aboard an attack cargo ship that witnessed the aftermath of the Hiroshima bombing; honorably discharged in 1946.
  • Civilian career: 59‑year waiter in Lexington at the Lafayette, Campbell House, and Continental Inn hotels.
  • Family: Married Ida Lee Hurst on September 2, 1949 (marriage lasted 62 years); three children (Valerie Annette, William Michael, Jeffrey Alan); numerous grandchildren and great‑grandchildren; preceded in death by wife Ida, granddaughter Rebecca Ellison Wright, sister Anna Louise Weeden, and his parents.
  • Religious life: Long‑time Baptist; baptized at Evergreen Baptist Church in the mid‑1950s, served as Sunday School teacher, treasurer, trustee, and ordained deacon (June 18, 1966); later affiliated with churches in Texas and Lexington.

Impact and effect

  • Purely ceremonial: SR 249 carries no legal or fiscal consequences. Its effect is to record the Senate’s official condolences, to adjourn in his honor, and to provide formal recognition for the family and community.
  • Recipients: Intended for Mr. Ellison’s surviving family and the Senate record; the Clerk is charged with transmitting the resolution to Senator Reginald Thomas for delivery.

Procedural/timeline notes

  • Introduced March 11, 2025.
  • Legislative records show the resolution was read and adopted (reported enrolled and recorded in the Senate journal). The bill information lists the status as “adopted.”

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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