Kathleen J. Elliott

Kathleen J Elliott, 103, slipped away on December 19 at Oregon Living and Rehab Center. Kathleen was born on September 3, 1922, in Detroit, Michigan, to Jesse and Joseph Saunders.

She grew up in Detroit and often told stories of the interesting folks in her childhood neighborhood. She also had fond memories of her family’s trip West, following work during the Depression. Those times were hard, but from her child’s view, it was an adventure going West - staying in camps, seeing Native Americans and walking through the woods to go to school in the state of Oregon. In her words “I never felt so free.” Tragically, her father passed from illness while there and the family returned to Detroit. Once out of school, she went to work in a munitions factory as the country geared up for war. Finding she was severely allergic to the oils used, she moved onto work at Demery's Department Store. She loved her work and they loved her, wanting to send her to school to become a buyer. Kathleen had other plans, however, as she had enlisted in the Army with a desire to “see the world”. Fate had other plans… Stationed at Eglin Field in Florida, she met her future husband, Clifford.

Kathleen and Clifford both worked in the hospital on base and were soon dating. Mom always said, things happened quickly back then and before long, they married on Aug 6th, 1944. After serving their country, they returned to Cliff’s home town of Champaign, IL in 1946. Work with Midwest Lumber Company soon brought them to Oregon, Il where they settled and raised 4 children.

In the early years of their family, Kathleen was involved in Woman’s Circle with the Oregon Methodist Church and enjoyed participating in and hosting bridge club. An excellent seamstress, she sewed many of her kids’ outfits and was often asked where she found such good-looking clothes! Also, no slouch in the kitchen, her infamous Pecan Rolls were always a favorite at Christmas time.

As the children grew, she desired to do more outside the home and began volunteering at the Village of Progress. This soon turned into a full-time job. Kathleen had found her calling and spent many years with the Village. Her favorite aspect of her job was working with folks on speech and language therapy. Though not professionally trained in the field, she received recognition for the work she did, forming special bonds with many of the people she worked with. While work was fulfilling, she still desired to do more and volunteered with hospice. An avid reader all her life, she also volunteered at Etnyre Middle School in the library learning center.

Upon retirement from the Village, she sold the family home and moved to Mt Morris. Time to downsize and relax! After a few months of this, she realized she needed something to do. The owner of her apartment was there one day installing an air conditioner and asked if she would be interested in working at his hardware store part time. She brushed it off at first thinking he was kidding. He wasn’t and she finally took him up on the offer. Returning to retail work after so many years was just what she needed to keep busy. She enjoyed several years of work there and was sad to see the store close for good. “When one door closes, another opens” … and she became an activity aide at the Oregon Nursing Home. Once again, she found something that engaged her and gave her a sense of purpose. Now she had a mission to develop meaningful and fun activities to share with the folks in her activity groups. As ever, she enjoyed the work but finally, at the age of 84, she was ready to “put her feet up”.

This brought her to Freeport where she spent several years in an independent senior housing facility. True to her need to keep busy, she was always involved in the many activities of her community – bazaars, cookie walks, the Spring Fling, and even a few years as the community treasurer. Health issues eventually required a transition to assisted living and in a full circle move, brought her back to Oregon Living and Rehab where she was loved and cared for in her final few years.

Kathleen was preceded in death by her parents, husband Cliff, brother, sisters and son Roger. She is survived by her sons CV (Judy) Elliott, Cape Coral, FL; Mark (Deb) Elliott, Oregon, IL; daughter-in-law Sue Elliott, Evanston, IN; and daughter Leslie (Sherm) Vandre, Freeport, IL. Grandchildren: Karen (Chris) Helmling, Shawn (Kate) Elliott, Amanda Elliott and Genese (Bill) Rose. Great-Grandchildren: Renee (Tyler) Caine, Wolfgang Helmling, Emilee Elliott, Kara Elliott, Issac Rose, Jeremiah Rose and Karl Rose.

Her family thanks Oregon Living and Rehab and Serenity Hospice for their care and kindness. In accordance with Kathleen’s wishes, a Celebration of Life will be held at a later date in 2026. Her desire was to have folks gather together to share memories, laugh and enjoy each other’s company.