William Bruce Cannon

William Bruce Cannon, 74, passed away peacefully May 6, 2017, in Las Vegas, due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, which he fought with a quadruple heart bypass and right carotid artery surgery at Mountain View Hospital April 2014. He then battled Alzheimer's Disease and dementia the remaining three years of his life, with the last 19 months at 24/7 Parental Care Home. He was born Dec. 9, 1942, in Memphis, Tenn., to Melba Ruth Ellis nee Rothenberger and Willis Oscar Ellis II. He was raised during the war years by his maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Rothenberger in Bauxite, Ark. Bill went on to become an Eagle Scout and excelled in school. He started college at Purdue University in 1960, but left in 1962 to join the U.S. Navy with his name changed to William Bruce Cannon by personal choice from Willis Oscar Ellis III. He was the third generation of Navy men in the Rothenberger line. He was part of the Cuban Missile Blockade on the USS Independence attack aircraft carrier in 1962 and served in Vietnam on the USS Sutherland nuclear equipped attack destroyer from 1964 to 1966. He served in the Navy in surface and air radar, communications including cryptographic and electronic countermeasures (while color blind), military police (at 142 lbs.) and Recruit Chief Petty Officer of the Naval Drum and Bugle Corps, San Diego, Calif. He then returned to Purdue University and graduated with a BS in Business/Economics. Bill worked for the General Electric Company in five different locations from 1969 through 1985 reaching managerial positions by his third transfer. In 1985, he changed to the private sector in Arkansas and began working for the Harvey Business Group. He started at HEMCO in Hot Springs, Ark. He went on to become CFO and COO at corporate headquarters in Little Rock, Ark. He was Founding Director at Preston National Bank, Dallas, Texas and Gibraltar National Insurance, Little Rock, Ark. He filled various managerial positions at Continental Express and Beech Trucking, also manufacturing, material handling and leasing companies, foreign sales corporations, EBM, Inc., C & Q, Inc. and Nevada Corporate Services. Bill's intelligence was genius, but his home life was simple. He filled it with family, friends and simple hobbies like collecting ball caps, tee shirts, watches and cologne, being an armchair quarterback (never bet against him) and knowing everything about cars and trucks. The car dealerships and salesmen knew him by name! He is survived by his wife, of 49 years, Vivian M. Cannon nee Schuller of Benton, Ark., and Las Vegas; daughters, Deborah Cannon of Rochester, Minn., and Elizabeth McElroy of Las Vegas; grandsons, Cameron and Adam Spillers; granddaughters, Kyla and Margaret McElroy; brother, J.D. Cannon; beloved aunt, Betty Rothenberger; son-in-law, Martin McElroy; brother and sister-in-law, James and Judy Schuller; and cousins and nephews, and their families. Bill's remains were cremated by Desert Memorial after a brief family viewing. The family would appreciate memorials to fund research for Alzheimer's disease, auto-immune diseases such as: RA, MS, NMO, Lupus, etc. or charity of their choice.