Dennis Burton Ellison, 79, of Burgaw passed gently from his earthly life Friday, February 11, 2022 at New Hanover Regional Medical Center with family by his bedside.

Dennis was born September 27, 1942, in West Virginia. He was preceded in death by his mother and father, Betty and Leno Martina.

He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Nancy R. Ellison; his daughters, Hope Bilbo (John) and Sonya Burns (Gary) of Madison, AL. and Sara Bland (Eric) of Burgaw, NC. Grandchildren, Glenn Clayton, David Burns (Bailey), Megan Craig (Tony), Joshua Burns, Gabby, Emilie, and Brooklyn. And the expected birth of his very first great-granddaughter, Scarlett Burns. His sister, Delores Morton (Jerry) of Salisbury, NC; his mother-in-law, Barbara Richardson of Charlotte, NC as well as many nieces, nephews, brothers and sisters-in-law. Honorable mention are his dear friends, Dirk, Don, Hugh and the Boy Scouts of Troop 242.

Dennis grew up in humble beginnings in the mountains of West Virginia and later relocated with his parents to North Carolina before enlisting in the army at the age of 16. He was stationed at Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, NC where he spent time as a Chaplain's Assistant and was a member of 82nd Airborne and loved telling stories of his days jumping out of planes. He later deployed to Germany for a short time, pre-Vietnam War.

After returning to the states and being honorably discharged, he worked nights for Overnight Trucking Company out of Greensboro, NC then later moved back to Wilmington. Shortly after returning home, he began working for Wright Construction as a trim carpenter, later followed by a tile layer, and a volunteer Firefighter. He also worked part time as a bartender at the Wit's End of Wrightsville Beach. He had the best time racing Hobie Cats on the waterway and was such a great sailor he spent many summers teaching those skills to kids in the British Virgin Islands.  And the beach is where he met the second love of his life, Nancy. First, were his two beautiful daughters Hope and Sonya from a previous marriage. He was so excited to introduce Nancy to the girls and really start to build their very own family.

Just one year after dating they got married and started their lives together and a few years after being married, they decided to move to LaGrange, NC where they lived on a small farm with a beautiful garden, a few animals and each other. Nancy later gave birth to their daughter, Sara, and when she turned 3, together they chose to move back to Wilmington to be closer to his mom and dad. Upon their return, Dennis went back to working construction building houses on Figure Eight and Bald Head Island. One afternoon, he took a terrible fall from the roof of the house where he was working and broke his back and both of his wrists. This accident gave him the opportunity to spend most of his days taking care of his little girl. They spent summers on the river fishing, eating hotdogs for breakfast at Paul's Place, and trapping Beaver for the state of NC, just to name a few. He never missed a dance recital or a volleyball game, or an opportunity to just teach his daughter something he knew.

Dennis was a man of many words, like how this obituary is turning out, so we will close it out with this.... He was a man of many talents. He never met a fish he couldn't catch, a gun he couldn't shoot, a car he couldn't fix, a house he couldn't build or a person he wouldn't help. He was smart, kind, and witty, a helper and a teacher. He loved God and his Country, his Family, and his Wife fiercely. All of whom will miss him beyond words.

The family of Dennis B. Ellison invites those who would like to join in celebrating his life to do so on Saturday, March 5th at Burgaw United Methodist Church. A visitation with the family will be held at 10:00 a.m. in the sanctuary and the celebration will begin promptly at 11am.

Shared memories and condolences may be sent to the family at www.quinnmcgowen.com

A service of Quinn-McGowen Funeral Home Burgaw Chapel.