Jerry Elliott

Jerry Elliott, age 91, of Milbank, SD, passed away on February 24, 2023.

Private services will be held at a later date.

David Jerry Elliott was born on June 19, 1931, in Buffalo Gap, SD. He was the son of Eva (McFarland) and Lowery Elliott. As a child, his family moved to Milbank, SD, where the family took up farming. He graduated from Milbank High School with the Class of 1950.

Jerry enlisted in the United States Air Force in April of 1951. He was stationed in England as a military police officer and was honorably discharged in April of 1955. After his military service he continued his studies at Dunwoody Institute in Minneapolis for auto mechanics. He then moved to Duluth, MN.

In 1959, he relocated to Reseda in southern California. Looking for a career change, Jerry was hired for a position at Atomics International where he worked in nuclear energy. Jerry retired from Atomics International in 1987.

Jerry lived with his sister and brother-in-law, Eva and Jim Clark, and their family while in California and helped raise their four children and maintain a busy home. He was a teacher without really knowing it, coaching the family on electronics and technology in the early days of computers. He built the first color television the family had ever seen using a kit. He also built his first computer from the components and when he asked the family for a mouse for Christmas one year, he had to explain that it was needed for the computer, not as a pet.

In 1991, Jerry moved back to Milbank and lived with his sister, Ruth Loeschke. He spent his winters in California. Jerry enjoyed gardening and tinkering. He could fix most anything. He spent a lot of time at the Twin Brooks Threshing grounds. He became a full-time resident of Milbank in 2012, when travel between South Dakota and California became too difficult.

Jerry was a quiet man with an upbeat positive attitude.

Jerry is survived by his sister, Eva Clark; brothers: Neil (Liz) Elliott and Gen (Lucy) Elliott; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents: Lowery and Eva Elliott; sister, Ruth (and husband, Karl) Loeschke, brother, John (and wife, Ethel) Elliott; and brother, Bruce (and wife, Doris) Elliott.