Ill. Bro. Thomas Arthur Wills, 33º
Sovereign Grand Commander
Biography
Ill. Bro. Tom Wills was born in Hamilton in 1959, lived in Smithville and Grimsby, and now resides in Effingham, Ontario. He began working in his family’s General Motors dealership business in 1979 with his father, Peter. In 1990, he became President and Dealer Principal of Wills Chevrolet-Oldsmobile Ltd. Ill. Bro. Wills sold the nearly century-old family business in October 2017, allowing him to devote more time to Valerie and his family. Ill. Bro. Wills married Valerie Floyd in 1981, and they have three children: Thomas (Allison), Richard (Vany), and Sarah (Dana); and three grandchildren: Scarlett Wills, Peter Vernon Wills, and George Richard Wills. Ill. Bro. Wills received his education at Smithville elementary and high schools, Niagara College, and General Motors Institute in Michigan.
Ill. Bro. Wills was initiated into Masonry in Coronation Lodge No. 502, Smithville, Ontario on October 6, 1987. He served as Worshipful Master in 1993, 2014, and 2015. He is also a member of Union Lodge No. 7 (Grimsby), Ivy Lodge No. 115 (Beamsville), Brock Daylight Lodge No. 745, and St. George’s Lodge No. 15 (St. Catharines). He became a Royal Arch Mason in Grimsby Chapter No. 69 R.A.M. in 1989, which later amalgamated with McCallum Chapter No. 29 in Dunnville, Ontario. He was District Deputy Grand Master of Niagara A District in 2016–2017.
Ill. Bro. Wills joined Murton Lodge of Perfection, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Valley of Hamilton, in May 1989. He is a member of Hamilton Sovereign Chapter of Rose Croix and Moore Sovereign Consistory. He served as Thrice Puissant Grand Master of Murton Lodge of Perfection from 2008 to 2010.
Ill. Bro. Wills was coroneted an Honorary Inspector-General, 33°, in Halifax in 2006. He was crowned a Sovereign Grand Inspector-General in St. John’s in 2016, invested as Grand Master of Ceremonies in Montreal in 2017, and served as Deputy for Ontario from 2018 to 2022. In 2022, he was elected Lieutenant Grand Commander in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and on September 19th, 2026, he was installed as Sovereign Grand Commander in Hamilton.
Ill. Bro. Wills was proud to be received into the Royal Order of Scotland in 2017 and currently holds the office of Senior Provincial Grand Warden.
Tableau of Officers 2026 - 2030
September 19, 2026
Thomas A. Wills, 33° - Sovereign Grand Commander
Owen T. Devereaux, 33° - Lieutenant Grand Commander
Brian W. Gilkinson, 33° - Grand Chancellor
Robert D. Brethour, 33° - Deputy for Ontario
Ronald J. Taylor, 33° - Deputy for Ontario
Jeffrey R. Dickson, 33° - Deputy for Ontario
Richard E. Jones, 33° - Deputy for Ontario
Fayez Oustwani, 33° - Deputy for Quebec
Graham A. Fraser, 33° - Deputy for New Brunswick
N. Kent Clarke, 33° - Deputy for Nova Scotia, P.E.I., Newfoundland and Labrador
Gordon L. Greasley, 33° - Deputy for Manitoba and Nunavut Territory
John L. Barr, 33° - Deputy for British Columbia and Yukon Territory
Allan L. Long, 33° - Deputy for Alberta and Northwest Territories
Bruce M. Jardine, 33° - Deputy for Saskatchewan
Steven E. Warren, 33° - Grand Secretary-General
D. Brent Julian, 33° - Grand Treasurer-General
Gordon R. Maitland, 33° - Grand Prior
Errol A. Stewart, 33° - Grand Master of Ceremonies
Paul E. Frank, 33° - Grand Marshal
Adrian Cretu, 33° - Grand Standard Bearer
Clive D. Stephenson, 33° - Grand Captain of the Guard
David F. Meyers, 33° - Grand Sword Bearer
Special Appointments of the Sovereign Grand Commander
Gareth R. Taylor, 33° - Grand Historian
Thomas F. Peddle, 33° - Chief Operating Officer ( Executive Secretary )
Past Sovereign Grand Commanders Since 1874
DAVID A. BENNETT
Sept. 17, 2022 to Sept. 19, 2026
ROBERT S. WHITMORE
Sept. 15, 2018 to Sept. 17, 2022
TERRY A. McLEAN
Sept. 19, 2015 to Sept. 15, 2018
RICHARD A. H. BROWN
Sept. 15, 2012 to Sept. 19, 2015
MATTHEW F. TODD
Sept. 19, 2009 to Sept. 15, 2012
C. ROBERT TOWNSHEND
Sept. 16, 2006 to Sept. 19, 2009
Died 14th May 2015
ORLAN J. WEBER
Sept. 13, 2003 to Sept. 16, 2006
NORMAN E. BYRNE
Sept. 16, 2000 to Sept. 13, 2003
Died 13th September 2005
GLENN M. MARTIN
Sept. 13 1997 to Sept. 16, 2000
Died 8th April 2015
HAROLD EDWARD CROSBY
Sept. 10th, 1994 to Sept. 13, 1997
Died 28th February 2025
JOHN VINCENT LAWER
Sept. 14th, 1991 to Sept. 10th, 1994
Died 29th March 2016
JOHN ALLAN BOURNE
Sept. 10th, 1988 to Sept. 14th, 1991
Died 10th November 2000
GORDON LOCKHART BENNETT
Sept. 14th, 1985 to Sept. 10th, 1988
Died 2nd November 2000
LYLE HERBERT BERGSTROM
Sept. 11th, 1982 to Sept. 14th, 1985
Died 8th August 1992
WALTER HENRY MORTLOCK
Sept. 15th, 1979 to Sept. 11th, 1982
Died 17th January 1998
WALTER CLIFTON McDONALD
Sept. 11th, 1976 to Sept. 15th, 1979
Died 7th November 1999
HARVEY ROY DOANE
Sept. 8th, 1973 to Sept. 11th, 1976
Died 10th June 1989
HOWARD BROWN MOORE
1970 Honorary
Died 6th June 1978
DONALD LLOYD WITTER
Sept. 12th, 1969 to Sept. 8th, 1973
Died 21st June 1992
CHARLES HERBERT CUNNINGHAM
Sept. 13th, 1967 to Sept. 12th, 1969
Died 12th September 1969
GEORGE CLEVELAND DERBY
Sept. 9th, 1964 to Sept. 13th, 1967
Died 5th January 1971
RICHARD COULTON BERKINSHAW
Sept. 7th, 1961 to Sept 9th, 1964
Died 4th May 1970
JAMES ALEXANDER SIMPSON
Sept. 11th, 1958 to Sept. 7th, 1961
Died 6th July 1963
THOMAS KINGSMILL WADE
Sept. 21st, 1955 to Sept. 11th, 1958
Died 20th January 1965
CLARENCE MacLEOD PITTS
Oct. 15th, 1952 to Sept. 21st, 1955
Died 10th April 1965
DOUBLAS FRASER
Feb. 14th, 1950 to Oct. 15th, 1952
Died 26th August 1968
GEORGE HENRY ROSS
Feb. 2nd, 1948 to Feb. 14th, 1950
Died 14th February 1950
DOUGLAS GORDON McILWRAITH
Oct. 7th, 1942 to Feb. 2nd, 1948
Died 2nd February 1948
JOHN ALBERT ROWLAND
Oct 2nd, 1940 to April 18th, 1942
Died 18th April 1942
WILLIAM HUGH WARDROPE
Oct. 3rd, 1934 to Oct. 2nd, 1940
April 18th, 1942 to Oct. 7th, 1942
Died 27th June 1947
ALFRED FREDERICK WEBSTER
Oct. 8th, 1925 to Oct. 3rd, 1934
Died 7th May 1938
JOHN ALEXANDER CAMERON
Oct. 23, 1919 to Oct. 26, 1922
Oct. 25, 1923 to Oct. 8, 1925
Died 16th December 1931
BENJAMIN ALLEN
Oct. 23, 1913 to Oct. 23, 1919
Died 10th April 1920
SIR JOHN MORISON GIBSON
Oct. 27, 1904 to Oct. 23, 1913
Oct. 26, 1922 to Oct. 25, 1923
Died 3rd June 1929
ISAAC HENRY STEARNS
Oct. 26, 1898 to Oct. 27, 1904
Died 15th February 1921
JOHN WALTER MURTON
Oct. 27, 1892 to Oct. 23, 1898
Died 23rd October 1898
JOHN VALENTINE ELLIS
Oct. 21, 1886 to Oct. 27, 1892
Died 10th July 1913
WILLIAM HENRY HUTTON
Jan. 13, 1882 to Oct. 21, 1886
Died 9th October 1893
THOMAS DOUGLAS HARINGTON
Oct. 16, 1874 to Jan. 13, 1882
Died 13th January 1882