William Pettigrew Elliott, 95, of Vero Beach, passed away on July 30, 2015, in the care of Hospice at Palm Gardens in Vero Beach.
He is survived by his wife Joan; son Robert and daughter-in-law Kathy; grandsons Blair (Andria), and Tyler; great-grandson Alex; and brother Jack.
His brother Doug preceded him in death.
Before retiring to Vero Beach, his life was filled with service and adventure while in the military, and then more service and accomplishments as a part of the community.
Elliott was born Nov. 29, 1919 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada and grew up In Santa Barbara, Calif. He gained citizenship is 1931 and after joining the Army in 1943, as an aviation cadet, he was an officer in the U.S. Army Air Force during WWII. He piloted many missions in Europe, and 20 years later visited a German town where he discovered a clock that may have been a survivor of one of his flights. Later Air Force assignments in Air Rescue left him with many special friendships that continued through the years. His military career awards included the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star.
After a last tour of duty in Vietnam, Elliott retired as a Colonel in 1974 after 31 years of military service. From his early years, he loved the outdoors and natural landscape. He was a member of the U.S. Forest Service in California before joining the Army Air Cadet program.
His knowledge and enjoyment of plants served him well later with construction projects and Habitat For Humanity. He was a co-founder of the Vero Beach chapter of Habitat For Humanity in Vero Beach, and was active in the organization and its mission for many years. He could recently still be found on a construction site with a shovel and plantings. In 2005, Elliott and Joan Koenig were married and spent wonderful years in travel and home.
After retiring to Vero, Elliott found great joy and meaning in being a member of the Community Church of Vero Beach. It was his involvement in the Church that gave him the ability and motivation to lead Habitat in its formative years.
A memorial service will be held Monday, Aug. 10, 2015 at 1:30 p.m. at The Community Church of Vero Beach. The family requests donations to Habitat for Humanity in lieu of flowers. An online guest book may be signed at www.coxgiffordseawinds.com.