Mr. Elliott used to visit us all the time in Charlotte, and later Sanford.  We always enjoyed his visits and hated to see him leave.  One day, I told him he really could stay longer if he wanted.  And his reply was, “Guests are like fish.  After three days, they start to stink.”  Lol...It wasn’t until years later that I discovered he was borrowing the quote from another interesting character—Ben Franklin:)

Don Elliott was my son Kelly’s father in law. I have been thinking about him a lot since his passing. Knowing him certainly was a blessing to me and all my family. Except for politics, we agreed on almost every subject. Always the gentlemen, it was a rarity to see him not dressed in a nice suit and tie. He loved his baseball. He loved his family, especially those grandchildren. He was fun to be around. No matter the subject or the conversation, when we ended it, I always felt like I learned something new and important. Great guy, great member of the family. He is already sorely missed. To my daughter in law, Robin…. Your dad made life a lot more fun and a lot more interesting. I realize that no words can really help to ease your pain at this time, but I just want you to know that I have been thinking about you a lot and you will continue to be in my every thought and prayer. As we both know, your dad is in good hands. Just remember Robin, God loves you and so do we.  -  Randy & Anne Faulk


-He said "we will go saturday and get one puppy from the pound" we came home with 3 puppies, one for each of us. 
-i always remember his time he worked at the bantam chef in conover, way before it was drums. he would come pick us up and put me and my brother and sister on a crate in front of the fountian drink machine and we would fix the drinks they called out. one time the phone rang and he told me to answer since i had the loudest voice, LOL. i was about 10. all of the people that worked for him there really enjoyed him he was like a father to them.  one of the boys who worked there asked if he could bring in his microphone to call out order numbers, he let him. he brought it in and when he called the number it vibrated off the building, it was so funny. he said get that thing out of here.  it was so funny as a kid to hear this. and one time when he was making chili the pepper lid accidetly came off and way too much pepper went into the chili, he was going to throw it away and a customer said let me try it, and he said i give you 5 dollars for all of it, LOL


If Paw Paw can be summed up in a few memories, it is that he was a man of the people. Whenever he told one of his exclusive childhood or war time stories, the room would go silent in anticipation. Another great memory of Paw Paw is that also cherished his opportunities to socialize with his grand kids. Take for example when my family would come visit him in Hickory. My brother and I would play wiffle ball with our other cousins in the yard. Paw Paw would find a lawn chair, play the role of umpire, and use his boisterous voice to call balls and strikes. I am thankful to have had him in my life. He will be missed.

Don on the occasion of his 90th birthday. It was a really fun day at his house. He was on fire that day with stories. Parker described him well—He said Pawpaw is authentic. Authentic is the right word!

Part 2.

, a chair in the shade, the hotel majestic in ocean City, the interstate system, a BLT, and just about every person he ever met.

My favorite memory of Pawpaw was the time he made me laugh more than I ever had in my life. I was interviewing him for a school project in elementary school and one of the questions was about the jobs he did when he was younger. He named several then my mom joked "why I bet he's even been a ditch digger". There was a long pause before Pawpaw piped up "well when I was 16..." and I died laughing. It wasn't even that funny but I laughed so hard I fell over and probably didn't stop laughing for 30 minutes. It was the laughter of a lifetime. And nothing made him happier than seeing his grandkids happy.

RIP
Pawpaw

Part 1.

I knew him as pawpaw. He was my granddad and he was the adult I looked up to the most growing up. There are countless adjectives I could use to describe him but pawpaw was a man of stories and I think he's best remembered as such. When we visited him it always meant campfires, wiffle ball, stories, hot dogs, no shoes outside, and you didn't even have to shut the door. When he visited us it meant we were eating good and I would have an excuse to stay up late watching baseball with him. I have so many great memories of him. To name a few: the time he ate the burnt grilled cheese because he didn't want us to throw it away, the time he played Monopoly with me until 2:00 a.m. on a school night and didn't tell my parents, every trip to ocean City, the time he yelled at me at a baseball game because I didn't like the mustard that came on my hot dog, the time we ate at a $35 buffet, the time we thought our dog was missing but he found her under the bed, the time he took me to McDonald's to meet his veteran crew and I threw up, the time he yelled at my brother for missing the gallon jug when he had to pee in traffic in Atlanta, the time he lit his arm on fire reaching across the table on Thanksgiving, and how we retell the story every year. 

I'm an analytical person and I got much of this from Pawpaw. He taught me how to pass time while driving by timing the distance between milepost signs to calculate how fast you're going. He often said playing solitaire is like managing a baseball team. He rationed his toilet paper in the army and he could tell you the year and sometimes date of every event in his life. Whenever he visited he stayed with me in my room. He never brought a bag, he always arrived with one change of clothes neatly folded, his black toiletry bag, and his red book. He calculated and tracked everything in those red books. 

Things I remember Pawpaw liked: thrashers french fries, the Orioles, seeing his grandkids eat, (cont. part 2)

I was lucky enough to know this man for 20 of his 93 years. Without knowing it, he showed me the value in the little things, taught me to appreciate the pauses in conversations, and that a rich man is one with a pocket full of stories. I couldn't have asked for a better Paw Paw.



My daddy loved his six grandchildren.  He was known as Pawpaw to them.  He did it all—read books, took them to the beach, to Orioles baseball games, took them to church, camp fires in the backyard, and epic wiffle ball games.  He even took care of them when they were sick—and was never daunted by babysitting!  The only rule at Pawpaw’s was to have a good time. 

I can’t begin to give a fitting tribute to him during this emotional time.  He had a booming voice and a kind heart.  He was a good storyteller and an even better listener.  He loved Baltimore and Ocean City, crabs and crab cakes, the Orioles and baseball, his backyard and movable lawn chairs, and his family and friends.  He was loyal, patriotic, funny, and authentic.  He saw the goodness in others.  I simply cannot imagine a better father-in-law.  He will be sorely missed.

OBITUARY

Donald Bennett Elliott

September 8, 1926 – April 3, 2020

Drum Funeral Home - Conover

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