Susan Mary VanCott Elson, 79
Susan Mary VanCott Elson of Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee passed away early Saturday morning, August 30, 2008, in Rockcastle Hospital and Respiratory Care Center in Mt. Vernon, Kentucky. She was 79 years old.
Susan was born on February 26, 1929 in Chicago, Illinois to the late Margaret Deacy VanCott, originally of Foxford, County Mayo, Ireland and the late Charles VanCott of Chicago. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Jerry Elson, her sister and brother in law Lila and Al Gramsch, her nephews Tom and Richard VanCott and her son-in-law James R. Arnold.
Susan VanCott attended the University of Chicago and then worked with the late Harry Koplin, who patented the sanitary cleaning process that revolutionized the diaper service industry and then became the standard washing machine that we know today.
She moved to Florida in the middle nineteen fifties with her mother and two young daughters, Peggi and Jacki, and continued to work with Mr. Koplin until his death twenty years iater.
She married the late Jerome (Jerry) Elson on May, 11, 1961 in Miami Beach, Florida and they made their home on Miami Beach. Mr. Elson owned Atlantic Consolidated Millworks, a lumber and building supplies company in Miami, Florida, and built numerous housing developments before turning to property management and investments.
Susan began working for thoracic and cardiovascular surgeons Dr. Jack Greenburg, Dr. William Yahr, Dr. Manuel Sivina, and Dr. Charles Byrd at Mt. Sinai Hospital on Miami Beach in 1977 where she remained until retirement in 1996. She was their office manager and financial representative.
Susan was known as the heartbeat of her family. And it was her heart that embraced life in such a way that it enveloped all those around her. From the time that she first stepped onto the stage of life she attracted the imagination and appreciation of all who met her. Susan captivated people from all walks of life and her physical beauty caught the eye of many, but she gave her best attribute, her heart, to her beloved Jerry, and to her whole family, especially her two daughters. She was devoted to her husband and cared for him until he passed away on May 6, 2001.
Susan moved to Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee in December 2007. She lived next to her daughter and son in law, Jacki and John Cook, and enjoyed her newly adopted community, complete with flocks of wild turkey and dozens of deer that visited along the creek that sat in front of her new home.
Susan is survived by her daughters, Peggi Elson Arnold of Highlands, New Jersey, and Jacki Elson (John) Cook, of Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee. She also leaves a brother, Tom (Mary Ellen) VanCott of Bridgeview, Illinois; sister-in-law, Arleen Karlick of Atlanta, Georgia; granddaughter, Kristin Chilvers, and Kristin’s companion, Chris Buck, and their son, Michael James Buck of Prescott, Arizona; her grandson Matthew Chilvers of Nashville, Tennessee; grandson Zach (Gabby) Cook and their son Caden; niece Joyce Karlick of West Palm Beach, Florida; nephew Philip Karlick of Atlanta, Georgia and his two sons Keith and Jordan; nephews Robert Gramsch of Chicago, Illinois; Cary (Marilyn) of North Carolina and their grown children; niece Patricia (Ed) Pauksta of Big Canoe, Georgia, and their three daughters. Susan is also survived by her former son in law Jonathan Chilvers; her two “other daughters”: Stacy de Cardenas of Costa Rica and Lana Fine London of Pembroke Pines, Florida.
Services are as follows: Visitation with the family is 5-9 p.m. Tuesday, September 2, and from 11 a.m. until the funeral service at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, September 3 at the Philip Anderson and Son Funeral Home in Red Boiling Springs, TN. Interment will follow in Smith Chapel Cemetery in Red Boiling Springs. Jimmy Cook will be officiating. All arrangements have been handled by Phillip Anderson and Son Funeral Home in Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee,
A Catholic Memorial Mass will be scheduled at a later date.
