Elliott, Kevin Jay

Kevin Jay Elliott is the father of Geoffrey Bryce Elliott and Daniel James Elliott. Despite his well known strength, he is a gentle man, typically good-humored, and willing to put others before himself in a way not often seen.

Early Life
Kevin was born in Hartley, Iowa, on 10 November 1959, the eldest child and elder son of Russell Jay Elliott and Audrey V. (Nelson) Elliott. He was joined in childhood by a brother, Boyd Jay Elliott, and a sister, Jodene Kay (Elliott) Walker. As the son of a schoolteacher and part of one of the leading families in the local Methodist community, much was expected of him from an early age.

Throughout his schooling, Kevin was a member of various band programs, and wrestled in his earlier years. He graduated from South Tama County High School, where he had some reuptation as a prankster.

Service in the United States Navy
After graduating from high school, Kevin enlisted in the United States Navy. He attained the rating of Storekeeper, Third Class, before enrolling in the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.

Marriage and Relocations
During his service with the Navy in Ames, Kevin met the woman who would become his wife, Deena Kay (Bryant) Elliott. The two married on 6 June 1981. There was friction in the family because of the marriage, and there was friction in the marriage because of poor job prospects; not long after the wedding, Kevin's term of service with the Navy expired, and he did not renew it. Instead, he and Deena moved to Louisiana, where Kevin took work with Westinghouse Elevators. While there, Kevin grew close to his parents-in-law, James Hickman Bryant and Patricia Jean (Hardy) Bryant. Also while there, Kevin welcomed his sons to the world.

For a time, matters were well. But they did not persist in good form. Due to a combination of factors, Kevin's wages from Westinghouse abruptly dropped, and, as a result, the family went into bankruptcy. The financial difficulty would combine with the death of James H. Bryant in October 1988 to prompt another relocation.

In Kerrville
In late 1988, Kevin relocated with his family to Kerrville, Texas, where his mother-in-law and several of his siblings-in-law lived at the time. After some initial difficulty, he signed on with State-Aire Air Conditioning, where he began to develop the skills that would govern his professional life for the following decades. He worked for State Aire for several years before signing on with Hardin Heating and Cooling, and while working for Hardin, Kevin earned a reputation as one of the finest, if not the finest, air conditioning technician in the rural Texas Hill Country. His consistently exceptional performance allowed him to secure employment as a heating and air conditioning technician for the Kerrville Veterans' Affairs Hospital in the mid-1990s. The income from that job, supplemented by odd construction jobs undertaken alongside his uncle-in-law, Edwin Dennis Hardy, allowed him and his wife to purchase a home in Kerrville in 1998.

Kevin established himself as an upright member of his community outside of work as well as within it. For nearly a decade, he was one of the managers of the Kerr County Market Association's Market Days. In addition, he was a long-time member of the Sentimental Journey Orchestra, a local swing band. More importantly, he was a long-serving member of the Kerrville Independent School District Band Boosters, acting as the organization's president for several years and in that capacity securing a grant of nearly $200,000 for the purchase of new instruments and equipment for the district's band programs.

After his sons had both graduated from high school and Kevin had withdrawn from work with the Kerr County Market Association, he resumed a quiet life at home with his wife, working with her as part of Heart's Desire Stained Glass until the company's dissolution. His dexterity and hard work served him well in that enterprise as in the others he had pursued throughout his life to that point.