Michael M. Elliott Sr.

Michael Martin Elliott was born on January 22^nd, 1940 in Kansas City, MO. He soon became the son and only child of Ruby Irene Shoup Elliott and James Hugh Elliott of Indianapolis, Indiana. His father was a colonel in the US Army and the family moved from Dayton, OH to Huntsville, AL and then Long Island, NY to finally settle for good in the Broad Ripple area of Indianapolis, IN where Mike spent most of his formative years growing up as a Hoosier.

Mike was a loving husband, father, Poppy and a friend to many. From a very early age, Mike participated in sports…his favorites were football and basketball. At 6’6”, he was gifted with the height and had the talent and passion to excel at basketball. He played throughout grade school at PS 76 and for Broad Ripple High School.

Mike then went on to Northwestern University to study finance and play basketball. A serious case of pneumonia during his freshman year derailed his studies and athletics, and he transferred to Indiana University to continue his education where he played basketball for the famed coach Branch McCracken . Following a redshirt year as a Hoosier, Mike saw some solid playing time with the program until the discovery of a career ending back issue.

The brotherhood of Delta Upsilon Fraternity at IU became an integral part of his collegiate life post basketball.

Mike and Arden Lee Campbell met at IU on a blind date—a second date almost didn’t happen, but Arden gave him a second chance and the rest is history! They were married 61 years.

Mike graduated from Indiana University with a major in finance from the School of Business in 1962. Upon graduation from IU he worked for RCA in the record division. He soon moved on to Dunn & Bradstreet and eventually on to the family manufacturing business of Elliott-Williams Company, Inc in 1964. He was made President of Elliott-Williams in 1980 and became owner in 1984. In the midst of running his family company and raising a family, Mike earned a Law degree from the IU School of Law was admitted to the Indiana Bar in 1982. He was a member of the Phi Delta Phi Law fraternity.

Throughout his professional life, Mike was honored to be part of several significant industry boards, panels, projects and advisory councils. He was a long-standing member the National Sanitation Foundation and past president of the Certification Council and Chair of Standard 7, and a president of the Indiana District Export Council. At E-W he was responsible for important projects like building cold storage warehouses as part of the Aswan Dam project in Egypt, building the cold storage for the original Port of Abu Dhabi project in the 80’s and building cold storage in Santiago, Chile for grape and wine industry.

Though completely dedicated to his work, Mike’s true passion was family.  His life’s greatest joys were the births of his four children – his first known blood relatives. His work was simply a vehicle to provide for and celebrate his family.

Mike took great pride in engaging in all his children’s athletic and extracurricular endeavors. Everyone knew to expect Mike Elliott on the sidelines coaching, in the stands cheering or behind the scenes organizing on behalf of his family. He spent nearly 15 years coaching youth teams of the Jordan YMCA and Carmel families across several sports from the sidelines, and another 35+ coaching from the bleachers. While he relished in coaching the skills of the games, it was the “life skills” coaching connections he cherished even more. Throughout life, Mike often told and re-told stories of life lessons learned through sport.

From learning and studying soccer to support and help coach Michael Jr.’s passion to learning the intricacies of Megan’s figure skating in order to film and follow her career on the ice there was no questioning the fact that he was a dedicated dad. Home or away, Mike never missed a University of Michigan football game and proudly watched Matt and Marc represent the Maize and Blue on the field. He and Arden traveled the country to support Matt’s NFL career.

Mike was larger than life. He was generous with his advice and never shied away from the opportunity to impart his wisdom on a topic or insert a well-used joke into a conversation. He loved to laugh, yet had a very stoic and commanding presence. He was unapologetically one-of-a-kind. To him, there was nothing better than a single malt scotch and a good story to share peppered with a few tried and true Dad jokes to keep his audience engaged.

Mike’s quick wit and a sharp focus were nurtured through mastering the crosswords in both the Indianapolis Star and Wall Street Journal daily. In retirement, he looked forward to his weekly bridge group at the Monon Center.

Mike is survived by his wife, Arden Campbell Elliott and his four children; Michael M. Jr. (Heather), E. Matthew (Kristin), Marc C. (Lisa), Megan M. DiCiccio (Derek) and eight grandchildren; William & Holly Elliott; Max, Abbie and Teddy Elliott; Cole, Chase and Corinne Elliott.

A Celebration of Life for Mike will be held on February 4, 2023 at Flanner Buchanan – Hamilton Memorial Park (Prairie Waters), 4180 Westfield Road (SR 32) Westfield, Indiana. Visitation will be held from 1:00 p.m. till the celebration service at 2:00 p.m.  Guests are invited for wine and hors d’oeuvres following the celebration service.

In lieu of flowers, Memorial contributions may be made to the Carmel Clay Public Library Foundation, 425 E. Main Street 46032 or the American Heart Association, 6500 Technology Center Drive Suite 100, Indianapolis 46278.

Online condolences may be shared by visiting www.flannerbuchanan.com.