Ned Eugene Dull
Forty Seventh Grand Master
1982-1985
Ned Eugene Dull of Van Wert, Ohio, was elected 47th Grand Master of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the U.S.A. at the 55th Triennial Conclave of the Grand Encampment held August 14-19, 1982, in Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas. Dull succeeds Kenneth C. Johnson of Little Rock, Arkansas, who serves as Grand Master 1979-82.
Dull has served in each office of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar, the highest ranking Order in the York Rite of Freemasonry, since 1973, including terms as Grand Captain General, Grand Generalissimo and Deputy Grand Master. The election to Grand Master concluded the Triennial Conclave sessions which saw the gathering of some 2,500 Knights Templar from Constituent Commanderies across the continental U.S. as well as Templar representatives from Canada, Europe, Mexico and Guatemala, Scotland, Japan, the Philippines and Puerto Rico.
A native of Ohio City, Ohio, Dull is presently a lumber dealer in Van Wert. He attended the public schools of Ohio City, as well as The Ohio State University and The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. He is a Past Trustee and member of the First Methodist Church of Van Wert, and his civic activities include membership in the Chamber of Commerce, Industrial Development Corporation, Rotary Club, Elks, American Legion, V.F.W., and the Ohio and National Retail Lumber Dealers Association.
Masonically, Sir Knight Dull is a Past Presiding Officer of the York Rite Bodies of Van Wert; a member of Ohio Priory No. 18, Knights of the York Cross of Honour; and current Grand Almoner of the United Grand Imperial Council, Red Cross of Constantine. In the Scottish Rite, Dull was coronated a Sovereign Grand Inspector General, Honorary 33°, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, in 1970.
As Grand Master, Dull will head the 350,000 Knights Templar under the Grand Encampment's jurisdiction and will serve as President of the Knights Templar Eye Foundation and as ex-officio member of the Knights Templar Educational Foundation, two ongoing Templar beneficient projects.
Dull and his wife, Margaret, are residents of Van Wert; they have four daughters.
Serving with the new Grand Master are these other officers of the Grand Encampment: Donald H. Smith (Kentucky), Deputy Grand Master; Marvin E. Fowler (Virginia), Grand Generalissimo; William H. Thornley, Jr. (Colorado), Grand Captain General; Harold Sumner Gorman (Nevada), Grand Treasurer; Paul C. Rodenhauser (Pennsylvania), Grand Recorder; and The Reverend Eugene H. Buxton (Huntsville, Ohio), Grand Prelate.
The Order of the Temple, from which the present-day Masonic Knights Templar descend, was founded in 1118 A.D., following the first Crusade to the Holy Land. Its original purpose was to protect European Christians on their pilgrimages to Jerusalem. It existed in its original military form until the death of Grand Master Jacques DeMolay in 1314, when DeMolay and his Knights were charged with heresy. The Grand Master was burned at the stake and the possessions and property of the Knights Templar were confiscated.
The organization re-emerged later as a part of Masonry and was known by 1760 in the New England colonies. Paul Revere and other War-of-Independence patriots were members.
The sovereign body of the Grand Encampment was established in 1816 in New York City with Governor DeWitt Clinton as its first modern Grand Master.Reference: Knight Templar Magazine, 08/19/1982
Published 111615
