Coney Elliott

A great friend of the Elliott family, Ray Hawkins, wrote the following article to tell about Coney’s life.

Coney was the first employee at Colonial Food Stores in 1967. He and I struck up a friendship when we were both working for 7-Eleven in the Odessa/Midland area because he was from Comanche and all my family was from there. Coney and I opened the first Colonial store on College Hills Blvd. in San Angelo and "the rest is history" as they say. Throughout the growth and development of the Colonial organization, Coney was a key person. His passion for merchandising and store layout/design led him to focus on those functions of the Company. He led the stores group to be a leader in those categories, recognized for his knowledge and creativity.

In 1980 Coney left Colonial to pursue his desire of being in business for himself and sharing his knowledge with others. Coney and his company, Solutions, became nationally known for site selection, store layout and design, and buying/merchandising. He worked for a very large number of different companies throughout the U.S. as well as Mexico. I dare say his name was one recognized by most everyone in the industry during those years.

After tiring of the constant travel demands of his business, Coney later joined the Kent Companies in Midland where he headed their Company's merchandising and marketing department for many years. Also during all this time he and his brothers, Kindel and Efferson, started and operated a company which bought, refurbished, rented, and sold houses --- a business which Coney enjoyed and was, again, good at. His involvement in that activity continued to date.

Coney was a quiet, mild-mannered guy unless you got into a controversial discussion about one of his hot topics --- then he could get vocal. He was a friend to many and greatly respected as a person -- an industry pioneer and developer of ideas and applications -- a man who knew his business and was willing to share.

He will be greatly missed by many!!

Those left to cherish Coney’s memory are his wife Janell, children, Coby (Jennifer) Elliott, Julia Peters, Kamali (Alan) Barron, Michelle Allen, Kristen Peters, Michael (Kasey) Peters, and numerous grandchildren. He is also survived by his siblings Kindel Elliott, Efferson Elliott, Edward (Sharon) Gray and Jan (Larry) Barrett.

A private celebration of Coney’s life will be held at a later date. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.johnsons-funeralhome.com for the Elliott family.