Bill Elms Remembered For Contributions To Odessa
By: Shelby Levins
Updated: November 8, 2012
ODESSA -- Many in Odessa are mourning the loss of a founding community leader, a long-time business man and a devoted West Texan.
Bill Elms passed away on November 7th.
Elms made a living as a Certified Public Accountant -- founding the Elms Faris Company -- but those who knew Elms best say he dedicated his life to the city of Odessa.
Current city leaders say Elms's quiet, strong leadership played a significant role in every major community initiative in Odessa since the 1960's.
Elms served as an Odessa Chamber of Commerce chair, an Ector County commissioner and a founding member of community organizations such as the Education Foundation and Main Street Odessa.
"He and his contemporaries years ago built the framework that the Odessa Chamber of Commerce has today to operate under," Odessa Chamber of Commerce President Mike George told Big 2. "It's a very strong framework. And we have a large debt of gratitude to pay to Bill Elms for what he's done for the chamber and the entire community."
Funeral services are planned for Friday, 2 p.m. at the 6th and Jackson Church of Christ in Odessa. The burial will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens.
Elms is survived by his wife, Anita, their two sons and one daughter, five grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, Elms's family suggests memorial gifts be made to the United Way of Odessa or the Permian Basin Area Foundation.
Bill Elms passed away on November 7th.
Elms made a living as a Certified Public Accountant -- founding the Elms Faris Company -- but those who knew Elms best say he dedicated his life to the city of Odessa.
Current city leaders say Elms's quiet, strong leadership played a significant role in every major community initiative in Odessa since the 1960's.
Elms served as an Odessa Chamber of Commerce chair, an Ector County commissioner and a founding member of community organizations such as the Education Foundation and Main Street Odessa.
"He and his contemporaries years ago built the framework that the Odessa Chamber of Commerce has today to operate under," Odessa Chamber of Commerce President Mike George told Big 2. "It's a very strong framework. And we have a large debt of gratitude to pay to Bill Elms for what he's done for the chamber and the entire community."
Funeral services are planned for Friday, 2 p.m. at the 6th and Jackson Church of Christ in Odessa. The burial will be at Sunset Memorial Gardens.
Elms is survived by his wife, Anita, their two sons and one daughter, five grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, Elms's family suggests memorial gifts be made to the United Way of Odessa or the Permian Basin Area Foundation.
