Carl Elliott, 85, of Sidney, passed away Wednesday evening, August 23, 2023 in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Funeral Services will held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, September 2, 2023 at the Church of Jesus Christ- Latter-day Saints with Bishop Marvin Larson officiating. Burial will follow in the Greenwood Cemetery with military honors.
Visitation will be held one hour prior to services at the church.
Holechek-Bondegard Funeral Homes in Oshkosh and Chappell are serving the Elliott family.
Family and friends can leave condolences at www.bondegardfunerals.com.
Memorials in Carl’s name can be made to the family for later designation.
Carl Russell Elliott was born April 6, 1938, to Earl F. and Louse M. (Hoffman) Elliott in Monticello, Minnesota. Carl was the 10th of 12 children. At the tender age of 5, Carl’s mother died, and he and his twin sister, Carol, older sister, Mary, and younger sister, Sharon, were sent to the St Cloud Catholic Orphanage in St Cloud, Minnesota. He and his sisters would spend the next several years in and out of the orphanage until Carl and Carol went to live with their oldest sister, June, in California, at the age of 13. Carl completed High School in California and then joined the Air Force in 1956.
While in the service he was stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota where he met and married Betty Jean Frazee June 5th, 1960. They began their family in 1961 and have been joined by 5 children: Doug, Cindy, Amy, David and Jennifer. After his discharge he and Betty moved to Aurora, CO where he worked with the Air National Guard at Buckley Air Force Base. Then moved to Longmont for a short time to work as an Air Traffic Controller at the newly built FAA there.
In 1964, he began his career with IBM in Boulder, Colorado as a Drafting Engineer. He was flown to New York for 3 months of training. While there he attended the 1964 World Fair. While at IBM, Carl was instrumental in the development of the CATIA program, that is still in use in various forms today. He continued this career until 1985 when he was able to retire. In 1994 he moved his family to Sidney, Nebraska, and has spent his retirement helping and serving so many friends and family in many ways from yard work, fixing just about anything, and working on cars.
Carl loved fishing, nature, hiking and camping, especially in the Rocky Mountains. He would often take Betty and the kids to Carter Lake. He was one of the first to fish the newly constructed Dillon Reservoir in the summer of 1963, when he took a very pregnant Betty up and down the hills trying to find the perfect fishing spot. Carl also loved animals and along with his children had various pets over the years. But he never did get that Monkey for Jenny. He also would go out of his way to make the children around him happy. He could often be found mowing mazes in the tall grass of his acreage or towing a wagon full of little ones behind the riding mower.
He is survived by his wife, Betty of Sidney; children, Doug Elliott of Longmont, Colorado, Cindy and husband, Ben Sarsozo of Centennial, Colorado; Amy McManis of Ashland, Nebraska, David and his wife, Amie Elliott of Del City, Oklahoma, and Jennifer Elliott of Sidney; 23 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; twin sister, Carol Rose Wilson of Klamath Falls, Oregon; grand-dog, Lucy; and many nieces, nephews and friends.
Carl was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings.