James Frank Elliott : Obituary

Obituaries

Chief Warrant Officer James Frank Elliott, USMC Retired, of Rainbow City, Alabama, formerly of East Ellijay, Georgia passed away Wednesday March 6, 2013 at his Regency Pointe Retirement Community residence.He was born June 30, 1914. He is preceded in death by his late parents Lum C. and Dora Webb Elliott and his three brothers, Dudley, Harold and Fred.

He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law Carolyn Noel and General Benjamin S. Griffin, US Army Retired of Gatesville, Texas and three grandchildren, Elizabeth Ann and Will Cain of Austin Texas, Jennifer Lynn Griffin of Austin, Texas and Staff Sargent Jason M. Griffin, US Army Retired and Dawn of Gatesville, Texas. His five great-grand children are Zachary, Myles, MacKenzie, Liam, and Benjamin, II. His eleven nieces and nephews are Frank Elliott, Janie Sisson, David Elliott, William Elliott, Cora Mae Payne, Benny Elliott, Betty Jean Burgess, Clifford Elliott, Sue Kile, Larry Teddy Elliott and Marsha Ballew.

He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of San Diego, CA. and a member of the Semper Fidelis Lodge No. 680 A.F.& A.M. Jacksonville, North Carolina for over 65 years. He had fond memories of growing up in East Ellijay and working at the Shippin Lumber Company as a small boy of 11 years old doing the work of a “man”, and after arguing with the Boss, receiving the pay of a “man”, driving his grandfather William “Bill” Elliott around in the family vehicle and at the age of 13 driving a truck to Copper Hill, Tennessee for a businessman in Ellijay for a fee of $1.50 and walking all the way back to East Ellijay via the railroad tracks after delivering the vehicle. While serving over 30 years in the USMC he received the Navy Commendation Ribbon w/V, Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal w/*, China Service Medal, AmService Medal w/*, AmCampaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, NatDef Service Medal, UN Service Medal, Korean PUC, and the Korean Service Medal w/***. * Denotes “star”.

His funeral services will be Sunday, March 10 at 1:00 pm at the Logan Funeral Home Chapel and he will be laid to rest in the Elliott plot of the East Ellijay Cemetery with full military honors. Rev. Jerry Banks officiating and Mrs. Diane DeHart is in charge of the music. Serving as pallbearers are General Benjamin S. Griffin, US Army Retired, Staff Sargent Jason M. Griffin, US Army Retired, Clifford Elliott, Frank Elliott, David Elliott, William Elliott, Benny Elliott, and Larry Teddy Elliott.

The family is receiving friends on Saturday March 9th, from 4:00pm-9:00pm at the funeral home Logan Funeral Home of Ellijay, Georgia is in charge of the arrangements.

Memories: The family living in a house where the Sears Store parking lot is located today in East Ellijay. All four boys were born in that house. The family later moved “up the road” to just below Craigo Hill across the road from the Ingles Shopping Center and Jack Williams family being our neighbor. Attending 3 church services a week at East Ellijay Baptist Church. Mom would be carrying the baby (Fred) and the other three of us would have to hold hands going down the road. I ask her why the preachers have to holler so loud….. she said to get their point across to everyone… Picking cotton in Rockmart / Calhoun, Georgia in the mid 1920’s, for Grandma (Harper) Webb receiving enough money to buy my first suit of clothes and a new pair of shoes. Realizing there has to be more to life than “pickin cotton” and walked back to East Ellijay. My brothers, growing up, we were all different. Harold was pretty quiet but Dudley and Fred, they were always getting into something. Dudley wrecked the family milk truck a time or two and Fred was not far behind him with his mischief. Those two boys kept Mom “a hopping”. Dad would just say, “those boys are at it again and you are going to have to do something with them”. And Dad was good hearted, he would loan people money, some never paid him back so one day Mom went to the Bank and told the “Man” to not let Dad sign a note for anyone else that she was putting a stop to this! You know, Mom had good business sense and occasionally Mr. Logan would get her “gut feeling” on people paying their bills ….. and then he would come back and tell her ��” Dora, you was right again…. Those people didn’t pay me. Mom signed the paperwork for me to go into the Marine Corp just before my 16th birthday and Dad saying “I’ll give you 6 months”. Three years and nine months later I got to come home for the first time since I left East Ellijay. Because of my young age, I had to go to Bugler School first. D. L. Edwards and I left Ellijay together to go into the service. And those Westmoreland boys over in town, we had a good time. Washing and ironing clothes for a fee for my fellow servicemen so I could send money home to my parents during the depression era years. I drew $21.80 a month and sent home $15.00. I didn’t need much money and hair cut money was only $ .20. Times were hard and the money helped them out. Later when I came home from service on visits, often times I would not find my Mother at home. When I asked Dad where she was, he would say, “out delivering babies again”. The Doctor in town told some of his patients if they couldn’t afford his bill, to go over to East Ellijay and see Dora Elliott, that she would deliver those babies for nothing and she did! Tours of duty included Parris Island, SC, Norfolk, VA, Quantico, VA, Prot of France, Cuba, seagoing aboard ship to the Philippine Islands, Haiti, Peking, China, Marine Guard at the Embassy, San Diego, CA., Pearl Harbour, Camp Lejune, NC and Camp Pendleton, CA. Attended Bakers School and helped established stricter guidelines for the Kitchen / Mess Halls. The Lord blessed me to live longer that any of my family. My Grandma Webb lived to be 97 and here I made it to 98 and ½. I have had a good life, but I am tired and want to go on….. maybe one night in my sleep the Lord will see fit to grant me that wish…………and He did.

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