Obituary of Kenneth Elliott

September 15, 1948 - March 27, 2023

Kenneth Elliott. Age 74 of Wyandotte.

Beloved husband of the late Karen Elliott. Loving father of Dale (Toni), Chris (Jen), Jason (Emily), Chad (Julie) and Brent (Janae). Dearest grandfather of 9. Great grandfather of 4. Dear brother of Glema (Ralph) Manuel, Shirl Elliott and Venda Elliott. Also survived by many nieces, nephews and a close friend Karen Denton.

Family Tribute

Kenneth Elliott left behind quite the legacy. A hard working man, husband, father, and grandfather.  

Kenneth was a retired Semi Truck driver and he loved what he did. He spent many years driving back and forth over the Ambassador Bridge to Canada. He would jump on every opportunity to bring his boys along on rides.  On bring-your-kid-to-work-day, he loved to show all of the boys what he did. He loved driving his big truck in his retired days to remind him of work. It was his happy place. Into his retirement, he liked talking about how he started at his trucking company, learned to work his way up in the company, and then become a driver. 

Kenneth loved his wife, Karen Elliott, with all his heart. He was permanently heart broken with her loss just  a short 20 months ago. After her heartbreaking loss, he was occupied by another love during that time, the love of his legacy. Papaw (peepaw) had nothing but  love for his 9 grandkids. They all loved to see their Papaw show up because they knew he would have a treat for them. He loved spoiling each and every one of them. From ice cream, to cookies, banana pudding, a milkshake, or a new pair of shoes, Pepaw knew how to shower his grandchildren with love and with memories. His biggest joys in the last 20 months have all been with his grandchildren. Those that were further away, would call him and have a chat, they all meant so much to his heart. 

Kenneth loved taking trips to the local flea market and browsing. When the boys were young, they remember hopping into the car for many trips to find treasures in these unlikely places. He loved to be outside in the garden and would never miss an opportunity to show off his tomatoes. He would take the care to plant them, water them, and harvest them. So many times, Mom and Dad would be stringing green beans, canning a vegetable, or making some type of sauce for the family to have later. He even made his own apple butter. Dad made the best cornbread in the land, regular and spicy. It has always been the best cornbread we have ever had, probably because he made it from scratch and with so much care and love. 

He  loved to bring his famous banana pudding to family gatherings. His secret recipe was a standard or a staple at every event. We all loved it. He would make it and share it with everyone, expressing his love for family in his treat and making sure that the bananas were the correct ripeness. 

He loved watching his Westerns. He would sit and watch them for hours. Often this would lead to him staying up throughout the night and sleeping in his rocking chair during the day. He had loved to share the TV sitcom “Yellowstone” with his sons. He looked forward to new episodes and having current discussions on the latest episodes. 

Family was everything to Dad. Weekend road trips to see Grandparents was one of my favorite memories with Dad growing up. We would pack up at the end of a week at school, load the vans all different vans in my memories. He would drive. Always. All the things he would show us along the way. Dad would talk about the memories from where he grew up, he had a strong family memory and told us tales of his life and his experiences. I remember him teaching us in those car rides our values and our meanings in life. It is still a place for family discussions in the next generations. Family meant the world to Dad and he has now been reunited with many of them. 

Dad, there is so much more to you, but mostly just this: You will be missed.