Donald Ray Elliott, 87, of Grandview, MO, formerly of Oak Grove, MO. passed away at 10:25am on March 2, 2019, surrounded by family.  Services will be held Friday, March 8^th at Royer Funeral Home in Oak Grove, with visitation at 1:00 p.m., funeral at 2:00 p.m., followed by graveside in Oak Grove Cemetery.  A reception will be held Friday evening at First Baptist Church of Oak Grove, 400 E. 14^th Street, Oak Grove.  In lieu of flowers, we ask that donations be made to Kansas City Hospice House, 12000 Wornall Rd., Kansas City, MO 64145, in Donald’s name.  

Donald was born April 3, 1931, in Norborne, Missouri, spending his youth in Carrolton with his parents and his siblings. When his parents moved the family to a small farm just south of Oak Grove in 1947, he stayed with his uncle Arch to work on his farm in Carrollton so he could save money to buy a car. He paid a whopping $250 for his first car!  

Don joined the Air Force at age 20; where Airman First Class Elliott spent time in Wyoming, Texas, Oklahoma, and Iceland before he was discharged in 1955 returning home to his beloved Missouri. He got a good job at AC Delco where he stayed for 37 years, from 1957 to 1994 when he retired. 

He met Lenora Grote in 1958 at Teen Town, a dance hall where all the teens of the day hung out. He came up there with his friend who happened to be her old boyfriend, but after she caught his eye, Don made his move. After taking her home on Sundays for the big family fried chicken dinners, Lenora knew he was her match. They married in 1959, had twins Michelle and Mike in 1960 and later moved to Grandview in 1961 when Michelle and Mike were nearly 1 year old. They later had Blake and Lori and have remained in the same house until this day.  

One of the funniest things he ever did was in 1959, when he dressed up for Charles and Betty’s Halloween party. Lenora made a home-made pumpkin costume, and she got him to dress up as a little old lady! Their friends picked them up so no one would know who was getting out of the car and Lenora threatened him with his life not to say a word and blow their cover! No one could figure it out and he was quiet the whole night until finally someone asked him a question and before she could stop him, he answered and the whole party went wild! No one could believe it was Don.  

Don was one of the kindest souls you’d ever meet. Always soft spoken and cool headed unless you got him riled over politics, then you’d see a different temper come out of dear ol’ Don. You’d rarely catch him wearing anything other than his signature pinstripe bib overalls. He loved talking about the garden he was just working in, his kids, or his trips to the farm with his dear friend Les of 62 years. He loved being outdoors and active as he could be. The only time you’d see him sitting for very long was in the morning reading the paper, eating his favorite oatmeal cookies or in the evenings when he’d catch up on the news. Always by his side was his dear dog Bandit, and later Lady who both thought they were his kids too, often sitting in his lap even though they were far from the size of lap dogs.  

Don is survived by his brother Johnny Elliott; his wife Lenora of 59 years; four children: Michelle Williams (Bob), Mike, Timothy Blake (Bev), and Lori Hill (Bryan); eight grandchildren: Cindi, Crystle, Cristi, Beth, Stacey, Darcie, Austin and Kyle; and nine great-grandchildren: Caley, Coby, Sienna, Preston, Jaylynn, Owen, Nicolas, Hudson, and Kolten.  He was preceded in death by his parents John Sanford and Glapha, and siblings Roger, Louise, Mavis, Joe, and Charles.  

Arrangements:  Royer Funeral Home, Oak Grove, MO   816-690-4441