Joseph Thomas Elliott Jr. (Joe, Tom), beloved husband, brother, father, and papa, died on January 19, 2024 at the age of 71. He was dedicated to his family, described by those who knew him as a hard worker, loyal, honorable, caring, steady, tenacious, mischievous, and funny.
Joe was born March 6, 1952 in Washington D.C. His siblings Mike and Mary remember their brother “Tom” for his mischievous antics, particularly his determination to secretly open all the Christmas presents and reseal them so their parents wouldn’t know.
Joe faced hardships in life head on with determination and grit. He completed his high school diploma by attending night classes while working two jobs. During the Vietnam War he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served as an Air Traffic Controller in the First Marine Air Wing. After his time in the Marines, he began his career in the McDonald’s Corporation where he worked as a company executive, independent owner, and manager for most the rest of his life.
Though dedicated to his work, Joe’s greatest love was his family. His children remember all the time he spent with them while they were growing up. Every chance he had to be there for his children, he was there. It did not matter if it was as mundane as a sporting event, choir concert, or fishing trip or as monumental as weddings, graduations, and the birth of grandchildren. If Joe could be there, he would be there. Through dark days and the challenges of life he taught them by example how to live by the Marine Corps principle to improvise, adapt, and overcome.
He was a doting papa to his grandchildren. He found particular joy in an extravagant Christmas celebration, presents stuffed into giant stockings and cookies, candy, and hot chocolate in abundance. His favorite place to be was right in the middle of it all, where wrapping paper flew everywhere and he received innumerable hugs and thank-you’s.
Above all, Joe adored his wife Charlene, to whom he was married for 31 years. They spent their marriage cultivating their yard into a flower garden, raising children in a loving home, and sharing the ups and downs of life by each other’s side. She was his best friend and his greatest love.
He is survived by his wife Charlene Setter Elliott; his siblings Michael (Kendra) Elliott and Mary Nelson; his children Steven (Molly) Elliott, Christine (Sean) Meyer, Laryn (Wesley) Langford, and Alyssa Elliott; and his seven grandchildren Ava, Jack, and Sofia Elliott, Grady and Arwyn Meyer, Joaquim Bustamante, and Dorothy Langford. He was preceded in death by his parents Joseph Thomas Elliott and Virginia Bridget Elliott and his grandson Julius Aiden Bustamante.
Visitation is at 9:30 a.m. with the Rosary prayed at 10:10 a.m. on January 30th, at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 13615 W. 92nd St. Lenexa, KS. Funeral Mass is to follow at 10:30 a.m. Committal and burial with Military Honors will be at 1:30 PM at Leavenworth National Cemetery, 150 Muncie Rd. Leavenworth, KS.