Leon Elliott

Heaven may have giggled (or groaned!) on Sunday, December 12, 2021, when Leon Elliott arrived with a lifetime of jokes to share with countless new listeners. Heaven’s gain is our loss—we who were left behind will miss his humor and friendliness. Leon Donald Elliott passed away on December 12, 2021, at the age of 87, surrounded by his wife and his children. His mirthful life began on September 16, 1934, in Georgetown, Massachusetts to Mildred and Donald Elliott. He is the sixth of seven children, and he never stopped marveling that he was born in the front room upstairs of the family home in the coal yard. He graduated from Georgetown High School and reliably mentioned at anyone else’s graduation that his own father, who was the president of the Georgetown School Board, signed his diploma and handed it to him. After graduation, Leon enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1953. The Korean war ended shortly after he enlisted and he claimed throughout his life that the war ceased because they heard that Leon Elliott was coming to the Korean peninsula. He joked (we think) that he was the Rambo of the Korean War. After his army discharge in 1955, he attended Northeastern University in Boston and earned a degree in Business.

Leon and Marti met when Leon was a patient at the dentist office where Marti was a hygienist; he made repeated appointments for teeth cleaning in order to see her again. They married on June 16, 1964. In 1968, they joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and embarked on a lifetime of service to their congregations. Leon always said yes to church assignments, including serving in the children’s nursery in his 60s (he especially enjoyed eating snacks with the children), agreeing to be a scoutmaster when he hated camping, and working with a congregation of college students in his late 70s. He felt that he was serving God wherever he was needed. Marti and Leon worked in the Boston Massachusetts Latter-day Saint Temple from its opening in 2000 until March 2020. He is remembered by many of his fellow congregants for his jokes and friendly demeanor.

Leon worked for most of his life in the mortgage business. Whether he was helping a family member secure a loan for their first home or putting together a large commercial business loan, he enjoyed his work tremendously. He found it gratifying to use his connections to help people on the path to accomplishing their dreams.

Leon is best remembered by his children for inviting them on “mystery rides” that always ended at an ice cream shop. He loved the flavors that no one seemed to eat such as maple walnut but later in life developed a love of Snickers ice cream. He was probably the last person in New England to drink Moxie soda and even had a Moxie hat. His favorite meal was a lobster roll followed by ice cream, and he ate both every Friday.

Leon appreciated the doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital who cared for him in the past few years, and his family thanks them as well.

Leon is survived by his wife, Martha Lillian Greenslade-Elliott, his 5 children Lee Ann (Craig), Martin (Jenny), Meredith (Douglas), Lauren (Gordon), and Lisa (Levi), and his 15 grandchildren Doug Jr., Nick (Samantha), Madeleine (Josh), Erica, Chris, Jillian, Grant, Paige, Lucia, Lindsay, Graham, Kendall, Christopher, Charlie, and Sadie, and one great-granddaughter Blair. He is also survived by his brothers Clifton, Clayton, and David and his sister Jean, and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Donald and Mildred Elliott, and his sisters Marion and Doris.

A viewing will be held on Sunday, December 19th from 2-5 p.m. at MacKinnon Funeral Home at 760 Washington Street, Whitman, MA. Masks will be required for services.

Funeral service will be held on Monday, December 20 at 10:30 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 379 Gardner Street, Hingham, Massachusetts followed by interment at Massachusetts National Cemetery on Connery Avenue in Bourne, Massachusetts at 1:45 pm.

We are grateful that it is totally appropriate in December to serenade him one last time with the Christmas carol that he claimed was written for him “The First Leon,” known to most people as “The First Noel.”