A former deputy chief of Driver Volunteer Fire Department will be remembered during a funeral service Saturday at Nansemond River Baptist Church.

William Allen “Bill” Elliott, 48, died Tuesday. The cause of death has not been disclosed.

After 20 years of service, Elliott retired from the department as deputy chief in December 2006, said Steve Moody, who had retired as its chief two months earlier.

“He was committed and dedicated to that community and to that department,” said Moody, adding he and Elliott “were like brothers — (we) were more than just friends.”

Moody said he believes Elliott joined the department when he was just 16. He climbed the ranks, starting as a firefighter before serving as an engineer, lieutenant, captain, assistant chief and finally deputy chief.

“He served in quite a few capacities,” Moody said. “He was a board member and a board president, a training officer, just to name a few.”

In the mid-2000s, Moody said, Elliott served on a committee that put together specifications for a new fire truck.

“He did quite a bit of mentoring to the cadets,” Moody said, explaining the department had a program that allowed cadets to come on board at age 15.

The young cadets could begin acclimating, Moody said, and at 16 they could go on calls if they had attained Firefighter 1 accreditation.

A Suffolk native, Elliott worked at Newport News shipyard for more than 25 years. “That was his primary job, but us being a fire department, that was a primary job too,” Moody said.

“He was a wonderful husband and father and very dedicated to his family,” his wife, Kim Elliott, said. “You couldn’t ask for a better person — always helping other people.”

Elliott was a recipient of Driver Volunteer Fire Department’s prestigious W. Garland Matthews Award, named after its foundation chief and honoring “outstanding firemanship and leadership.”

He remained a life member of the department, according to Fred Callis, current chief.

“He did a lot of good for the community,” Callis said. “Me and him came up through the ranks together. He was a very intelligent man in the world of firefighting.”

Elliott’s family is in the department membership’s prayers, Callis said.

According to Elliott’s obituary, he was predeceased by his parents, Inez and Richard Elliott, and is survived by his wife Kim Elliott and children Darian Dean, Ashtyn Elliot, Brooke Elliott and Taylor Elliott.