Elwood Haynes "Bud" Hillis was born in Kokomo, Indiana, on March 6, 1926. He attended Kokomo Schools and graduated from Culver Military Academy in 1944. After earning his business and law degrees from Indiana University, he was admitted to the Indiana bar in 1952 and commenced an 18-year practice in Kokomo.

Hillis served in the U.S. Army in the European Theater with the rank of first lieutenant from 1944-1946, retiring from the reserves in 1954. He was elected as a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from 1966 through 1970 and served as a delegate to the Indiana State Republican conventions from 1962-1970.

Elwood Hillis represented Indiana's 5th District from 1970 to 1987 in the U.S. House of Representatives, for the majority of that time serving on both the Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committees. He was involved in the development of the M1 (or Abrams) Tank and was instrumental in the government's bailout of the Chrysler Corporation in 1979. He retired from Congress in 1987, returning to his law practice in Kokomo and extensive work in community and philanthropic activities. He died January 4, 2023 in Windsor, Colorado.