- Date Of Birth: March 3, 1920
- Date Of Death: March 18, 2013
- State: Indiana
Mary Proudfit Noble Elliott, 93, of Elkhart, passed away Monday morning, March 18, 2013, at Eastlake Terrace in Elkhart.
She was born on March 3, 1920, in Omaha, Neb., to the late William Findley and Alice (Proudfit) Noble.
Educated in the Omaha public schools system, she graduated from Central High School in 1939. Mary attended Wells College, a women’s college in Aurora, N.Y., for two years and then transferred to Northwestern University where she pledged Kappa Alpha Theta and graduated in June of 1942 with a B.S. in Chemistry and Biochemistry. While at Northwestern, she met Thomas Albert Elliott on a blind date.
Following her graduation, she attended a six-week session at Mosier Business School, which led to a secretary’s position with Merchant Chemical Company in the Tribune Tower. During this time, Tom Elliott was part of the U.S. Army Special Medical Training Program. Mary and Tom were married on June 15, 1943, in Omaha at St. Mary’s Catholic Church.
Over the years, they moved several times and had three out of their six children while Tom completed his residency in cardiology at the Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans, as well as his U.S. Army basic training. While living in New Orleans, they had their fourth child. Soon afterwards, they moved to Elkhart, where Tom joined his father Lloyd in his medical practice and co-founded the Elkhart Clinic with the help of three other physicians.
Two more Elliott children were born, and with six children under her care, Mary maintained activities in the local PTA, served on the board of directors of the YMCA, served as treasurer of the League of Women Voters and president of the Women’s Medical Auxiliary. She was also a member of the Thursday Club and the Colonial Dames of the 17th Century. Tom and Mary helped found the Unitarian Church in Elkhart, where Tom served as the first president and Mary taught Sunday school for seven years. Her passions were gardening, reading, needlework, homemaking and most of all, parenting.
Mary was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas A. Elliott and her two sons, David and Douglas.
Surviving are her three daughters, Kathryn (Tim) Musgrave of San Antonio, Texas, Elizabeth (Richard) Bond of Elkhart and Dr. Julie (Norman Gwaltney) Elliott of Indianapolis and a son, Thomas N. Elliott of Elkhart. She is also survived by eight grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and a sister, Sarah N. Spire of Omaha.
