December 31, 1950- October 11, 2024
William “Chip” Mellor was born on December 31, 1950, in Knoxville, Tennessee, and passed away peacefully on October 11, 2024, at home in Moab, surrounded by his family.
Chip and his wife, Alison Ling, recently celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary. Chip met Alison while the two young attorneys worked together at Mountain States Legal Foundation in Denver. They shared a love for all things Western, the great outdoors, and a youthful desire to change the world.
Soon after they married, they moved to Washington, D.C., where Chip took a position as Deputy General Counsel in the Department of Energy as part of the Reagan Administration. Their next move was to San Francisco for Chip to head up the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy. While at Pacific Research, Chip developed the blueprint for his life’s work: the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit public policy litigating organization that would fight for individual liberty. In 1991, his dream became a reality and Chip cofounded the Institute for Justice (www.IJ.org) in Washington, D.C.
They raised their two children, Mitchell Mellor and Sarah Mellor, in northern Virginia, but quickly established a family tradition of vacationing in Moab every summer. Mitch and Sarah grew to have that same sense of adventure and love for the outdoors, particularly Utah’s red rocks and canyons. Mitch is now married to Tajari Mellor and living in Chicago. Sarah lives in Boulder, Colorado. They’ve shared many great adventures together as a family, their favorites always including good food and action movies.
After building IJ into a nationally recognized organization that has now litigated 10 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, Chip decided to retire to his beloved Moab. He and Alison built their dream home and spent the next 10 years exploring the beauty and serenity of the canyon country. Chip not only hiked hundreds of miles, but took up rappelling and canyoneering, backpacked into the Grand Canyon, shimmied through slot canyons, and managed to only get his camper truck stuck a few times.
Chip was a resilient, inspired, and visionary leader who took great delight in spotting and growing the next generation of leaders. Chip personified the presumption of goodwill, courage, determination and a clear vision in all his work. As a straight-shooting and kind friend, he often went the extra mile to help those around him when they needed direction, encouragement, or just a kind word. Despite rising to the highest levels in his profession, Chip maintained a genuinely humble nature and shied away from the public light. He earned numerous awards for his leadership and achievements, including the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation’s 2012 Bradley Prize.
Mellor earned his undergraduate degree from Ohio State University and his J.D. from the University of Denver School of Law. Chip edited and coauthored numerous books, including “The Dirty Dozen: How Twelve Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom,” which he co-wrote with Robert A. Levy.
In addition to his wife and children, Chip is survived by his brother, David R. Mellor. He is preceded in death by his father, William H. Mellor Jr., his mother, Marjorie Mellor, and his brother Leon “Terry” Mellor.
Chip loved his family, his work, and his home in Moab. The world is a much better place because of his efforts, we will miss him.
A celebration of life service will be held in early November in Moab, with an additional service hosted by the Institute for Justice (www.IJ.org) in Washington, D.C. at a later date.
Friends are encouraged to share their tributes online at www.SpanishValleyMortuary.com
