R.I.P. Bill Ellis - Wilson, NC
Stock Car Racing History
The late Bud Elliott of Emporia, Virginia, a 1970s dirt track champion at Wilson County (NC) Speedway , was the uncle of future NASCAR drivers Elliott Sadler and Hermie Sadler . Yesterday at the Wilson funeral for Bill Ellis , Hermie recalled stopping as a 5-6 year old to eat Saturday lunches at Wilson's Bill's Barbecue & Chicken Restaurant before Saturday night Wilson races where Uncle Bud wheeled his #77 Chevelles and Novas. Later, Hermie would become the youngest General Motors dealership owner in the United States and drive Don Beverley's #25 Virginia Is for Lovers car in the NASCAR Busch Series.
When he needed business advice, Hermie Sadler turned to the Wilson barbecue entrepreneur. The story below is from the front page of today's Wilson Times newspaper.
WILSON and HERMIE SADLER REMEMBER BILL ELLIS
By Brie Handgraaf Wilson Times Staff Writer
Every plate at Bill Ellis Barbecue was served with a lesson in work ethic on the side, according to former NASCAR driver Hermie Sadler.
“We never went directly to the racetrack because we’d swing by Bill’s Barbecue for lunch. I was 5 or 6 years old at the time and what stood out to me is that every Saturday he was there,” Sadler said at the restaurateur’s funeral Thursday.
“He was cooking sometimes. He was cleaning sometimes and he’d find time to speak to all the guests. Whatever was needed, he would do it and lead by example.”
The duo’s shared love of racing became the foundation of a lifelong friendship. “It didn’t matter if it was cooking barbecue or racing, Bill wanted to win,” said Sadler.
While Ellis’ career as an entrepreneur was spurred by an injury sustained in a midget car racing crash, the 83-year-old man reportedly never lost the need for speed. Sadler recalled a trip to Wilson for business advice when Ellis took the retired racer to his lakeside home in a white Dodge van “that sounded like a race car and he drove it like it, too.” “The one thing that really stood out about that day was the way his employees acted in his presence,” Sadler said. “When he walked in, his employees lit up and I could tell everyone who worked at that facility would take a bullet for Bill.
That made the day worthwhile for me. “It all relates back to people. I realized I had to figure out how to make employees loyal and dedicated to me as Bill’s were to him and that would solve a lot of my problems.”
The Rev. Ray Barnhill officiated the funeral, asking attendees to stand up and raise their hands if they had worked for Ellis, if it was their first job, if they’d attended an event at the Bill Ellis Convention Center or been a recipient of the Wilson man’s kindness. Each question was met with a flurry of movement from funeral attendees at Forest Hill Baptist Church.
“In our life here, we touch lives for the better or for the worse,” Barnhill said. “There are many ways that Brother Bill touched lives in a positive way.” The barbecue restaurant at the corner of Forest Hills Road and Downing Street was one of the first restaurants where Barnhill ate when he moved to Wilson. He said he quickly realized Ellis was one of the hardest-working individuals he’d ever met. “Some think they just float around on a cloud in heaven playing a harp, but I believe we’ll have to work in heaven,” Barnhill said. “... I think Jesus is Bill’s kind of guy because Jesus is a worker.”
The pastor at Union Missionary Baptist Church in Rocky Mount also recalled Ellis’ unbridled honesty and his intelligence, even at the age of 29 when Ellis left a job as an electrician to purchase a hot dog stand. “Being a smart person, he wanted to make sure that if he quit his job that there would be possibilities to come back if it didn’t work out,” Barnhill said. “... His boss said to him, ‘Of course you can have your job back, but you will never be back here.’ He recognized that when Bill saw an opportunity, then he was going to find a way to make it work.” Many of Ellis’ family, friends and colleagues went on to Evergreen Memorial Park for a brief graveside service.
