William Ellis Bunn, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather died December 29, 2023, at the Southern Utah Veterans Home in Ivins, Utah. “Bill” as he was known to many, was born November 30, 1942, in Burley, Idaho. He is the second of three children born to Ellis and Addie Bunn. Bill grew up in many locations throughout the Western United States following the work locations of his father who worked with large rock-crushing machines, which provided the base for railways, highways, and large construction projects throughout the West.
This required frequent moves throughout his childhood and adolescence. He didn’t like attending many different schools and was determined to one day settle in just one location to provide stability for his family. He served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Southern England mission and enjoyed sharing his love of the gospel with the people of England. He graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) with a degree in Psychology. BYU is where he met the love of his life Nancy Lillywhite. They were married in the Los Angeles, California Temple on April 12, 1968. In March of 1969 their first child Andrea was born.
The next day Bill had to leave his new baby and beloved wife for Vietnam. He served in Vietnam as a US Army combat medic and was the head of a Battalion Aid Station at LZ San Juan Hill. For his service, he received the Bronze Star–the 4th highest award a service member can receive for heroic deeds performed in an armed conflict. After the war he worked as a licensed practical nurse (LPN) and was in the second graduating class of the newly established Physician Assistant (PA) program at the University of Utah. In 1973, he moved his family of (at the time) three children to Las Vegas, Nevada where he worked as a civilian PA for Nellis Air Force Base.
For the next 21 years, he enjoyed serving the patients of the Air Force where he was well loved and respected. During this time Bill and Nancy had four more children. In 1991 Bill transitioned to working for the Department of Energy (DOE) as a Health Systems Specialist and worked another 21 years with the DOE. Bill retired from the DOE in 2012. He achieved his goal of providing a stable base for his family by settling in Las Vegas, NV where he and Nancy lived for over 50 years.
His family of seven children were able to enjoy the stability of living in one location and all seven children attended Ruth Fyfe Elementary School, R.O. Gibson Junior High School and graduated from Western High School. Bill was very active in the Boy Scouts of America Program, was Woodbadge Trained, and loved working with the youth in the community and the youth of the church. Many weekends and vacations were spent in Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting activities, and family campouts. He served his church in several bishopric organizations. He also served in ward and stake leadership positions over the youth.
Upon retiring, he and Nancy served an 18-month service mission for the church as employment specialists helping people of all faiths improve their skills and ready themselves for employment opportunities. He was an avid outdoorsman, who loved fly fishing, sailing, and wood working. Most of all, he loved spending time with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren supporting them in all their social, academic, athletic, and musical endeavors.
He is survived by his wife, Nancy Lillywhite Bunn; his sister, Meredith Walde; his children, Andrea Allred (Eric), William Bunn II, (Dana), Daniel Bunn (Melissa), Christine Washburn (Jon), Jonathan Bunn (Amber), Benjamin Bunn (Wendy), Michael Bunn, 27 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his mother and father, Addie and Ellis Bunn; in-laws, Justin and Alice Lillywhite; and sister, Loretta Witworth.
Funeral services will be on Saturday, January 6, 2024, at 10:30 am at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Chapel, 1035 South 800 East, Orem, Utah 84097. There will be a visitation prior to the service on Saturday, from 9 am to 10:15 am at the church. Interment will be at 2:30 pm at the Brigham City Cemetery, located at 300 East 300 South, Brigham City, UT 84302.
Arrangements are under the care of Metcalf Mortuary, (435) 673-4221. Visit the Metcalf Mortuary website for condolences, complete obituary and funeral listings.