Delores Mae Elliott

Delores Mae Johnson was born July 19, 1937, in Sandwich, Illinois, to Viola VanCleve and Severin Johnson.  She died on December 24, 2023, at 11:40am surrounded by her loving children and family.

Delores was preceded in death by her father, Severin Johnson; her mother, Viola Johnson; her sister, Alice Johnson Krug; her brother, Junior Johnson; her husband, Orland McCann; her husband, James Keithel Smith; her husband, Mark Elliott; and her son-in-law, Royce DeBerry.  She is survived by her daughter, Cynthia McCann DeBerry; her son, Darrel (Kim) McCann; her bonus daughter, Kate (Steve) Prasuhn; her bonus daughter, Merrie (Jeryl) Ramsey; her bonus son, Robert (Lillie) Elliott, and her bonus son, William (Peggy) Elliott.  Delores is also survived by her granddaughters, Alicia (Curtis) Garrison, Angela (Joe) Kmitta, Amanda (Brad) Baker, Jennafer (Chris) Reynolds, Melissa DeBerry, Vanessa DeBerry, Kassandra DeBerry, Savanna DeBerry, Brianna DeBerry, Aurora (LaZavier) Heard; and her grandsons, Michael (Lindsey) DeBerry and Christopher McCann.  She is also survived by her 27 great-grandchildren and 6 great-great grandchildren, along with several bonus grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Delores had an unusual life in that she was blessed with three very happy but different marriages.  She was first married to Orland McCann on January 7, 1956, and was blessed with two children, Cindy and Darrel.  Unfortunately, this marriage lasted less than 16 years as Orland died on December 12, 1971, when Delores was 34.  She found love again when she married James Keithel Smith on June 30, 1973.  This marriage was not blessed with any children, but Delores was blessed with 8 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild during this marriage.  Delores was 56 when Keithel passed away, and she moved in with her daughter, Cindy and Cindy’s husband, Royce.  She was then blessed with 4 more grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.  Delores found love a third time, marrying Mark Elliott on March 22, 2008, and was blessed with 4 bonus children, several bonus grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  She had a very happy life with Mark, until he passed away after 13 years of married life on April 7, 2021.  Delores spent the rest of her life with Cindy and Amanda, living in the same apartment she lived in after Keithel passed away.

Delores obeyed the gospel when she was 19, after been taught the truth by her husband, Orland.  She was a faithful member of the Lord’s Church until her death.  Delores worshiped at West Aurora Church of Christ in Aurora, IL for 36 years, then Eastside Church of Christ in Indianapolis, IN for 15 years, then Lafayette Church of Christ in Lafayette, IN for 13 years, and then Southport Church of Christ in Indianapolis, IN until her death.

Delores made every house a home.  She was a homemaker and took great care to decorate her home.  She loved to celebrate every season and holiday.  She also showed her love though tending the garden and her cooking.  Delores was very active in the Lord’s Church, known to visit sick Christians and comforted many through the end of their life.