William Steger Elston

William “Bill” Elston, area businessman died Sunday after a long illness with ALS, at age 74. Born on Sept. 1 1940, in Louisville, Kentucky, The son of Woodrow and Margaret. Bill had 3 brothers and a sister, he frequently enjoyed the company of brothers Tom, John and sister Peggy. Bill grew up in Louisville attending St. X High School graduating in 1958. He moved on from there to the University of Louisville graduating with a degree in chemistry. He leaves behind his wife of 38 years, the former Marilyn Wood. He was father to 4 sons, Gordon, (Krista), Greg, (Kyla), Jon and Matthew, (Robin), and daughter Beth, along with 9 grandchildren. Also, he leaves behind two special angel’s, Jen & Lisa, who were his caregivers. He was preceded in death by his parents Woodrow and Margaret, and a brother Robert.

Bill took his chemistry degree and started as a lab technician with Colgate in 1962. He quickly moved on to the Pillsbury Company where he climbed the ladder. He left there to go to work for Frito-Lay Inc. rising to Senior Vice-President of Operations leading the company operations during a tremendous period of growth. He moved to the Jacksonville area in 1990 to become the President of GATX, he left for a brief stint with the Steelcase Co. But returned to Jacksonville and worked independently as a recruiter, which he did for several years. Then he became CEO of Clean Shower before retiring, but staying active as a member of the board with LandStar for 12 years. Bill received numerous awards over the years for business and community involvement, but he would never display or look for any recognition from those accomplishments.

Bill was an avid sportsman who loved to golf , hunt, water ski and was a crack Racquetball player. In golf, he scored several hole-in–one’s. Including, one at the TPC, which is memorialized with a plaque in the clubhouse. He loved following the University of Louisville sports teams and had a special fondness for corvettes, owning many over the years. He was an avid stamp collector. He traveled extensively with Marilyn by his side and was very active supporting his grand children at their events. He enjoyed the company of friends and had a wide professional network of associates he interacted with on a regular basis.

He will be remembered at a visitation and showing at Beaches Chapel by Hardage-Giddens, 1701 Beach Boulevard, Thursday from 5:00 to 8:00PM. A Catholic mass will be observed the following day; Friday at 10:00AM at St. Paul’s Catholic Church, with interment to follow at Oaklawn Cemetery.

The family is requesting donations be made in Bill's name to ALS.