David Nathaniel Elliott
1931-2022
David Nathaniel Elliott was born April 24, 1931, to Lillie and Roy Elliott in Bridgeton, New Jersey. Shortly after his birth as the fifth of six children, the family moved to Takoma Park, Maryland.
David’s father bought a book on carpentry and taught himself the trade. As a child David used to go with him on the job as the main “water boy” for the workers and learned the trade firsthand. When he was 14, he told his elementary school teacher what he was earning in the summer months to which she replied, “That’s more than I make!” When he got to high school, he quit and went into building full time. By 16 he was able to lay out and construct staircases and by 18 received his first contract for the finish carpentry in a new house.
The first date between David and Suzanne was a walk along Sligo Creek on a Sabbath afternoon, taking her 3-year-old brother with them. It went well, and their eventual marriage produced four children within the first six years, with two more adopted shortly thereafter.
In 1968, while driving south to work on Route 29, David was in an accident and went through the windshield onto the concrete highway which nearly tore off his nose and severely fractured his jaw and right arm. After two years of forced vacation recovering from four surgeries, David learned to use his left hand for carpentry. He went to work for the Department of Housing and Urban Development in Baltimore, then San Francisco and eventually, back to Baltimore.
After returning to Maryland, he developed a subdivision in Howard County. His daughter, Yolanda helped him build the first house in the development and still lives there where she cares for elderly folks. He was able to watch his children have children of their own. David and Suzanne found adventure touring the United States, Egypt, the Holy Land, and Europe along with mission trips to Mexico and Martinique.
In 1989 David noticed a little church for sale in Needmore, Pennsylvania and decided to buy it. For three years the Chesapeake Conference sponsored the company before the Pennsylvania Conference welcomed it as a full church. David was the Lay Pastor for 13 years.
A non-profit called White Oaks Estate and Health Reconditioning Center Inc. in Hancock, Maryland was floundering, so David assumed control of the property in 1994. When the Center was unable to achieve its objectives, the Board liquidated the assets and donated the proceeds to various charities in 2006.
The later years of David’s life found him hampered by his diming eyesight and respiratory problems.
On Sabbath, January 8, 2022, David died quietly while visting his daughter’s home. Survivors include his wife Suzanne, his son Victor Elliott, daughter, Yolanda Elliott, and a host of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
