AREA OBITUARIES -- ANN CLAXTON ELLIOTT

Ann Claxton Elliott, age 82, of Knoxville, TN passed peacefully to her heavenly home on

Tuesday, April 18, 2022 after a brief battle with Alzheimer’s disease. A loving mother,

grandmother and great-grandmother, she is survived by her sister, Beverly Claxton

Daugherty of Irvine, CA; eight children, Frank (Claire) Schwahn, Suejette (Bernard)

Travis, Terri (Scott Mullane) Marion, Scott (Jill) Schwahn, Catherine (Larry) Lee, William

(Ingrid) Elliott, Jack (Elizabeth) Elliott, Jr., and Melissa (Richard) Arellano; seventeen

grandchildren, Marjorie Schwahn (Stuart) Armstrong, Frank Schwahn, Jr., Dacie Travis

Buck, Taryn Mullane, Felix Mullane, Hunter Mullane, Stephen Schwahn, Elliott (Caitlin

Fuselier) Schwahn, Victoria (Sebastian Bouscher-Helbig) Schwahn, David (Kem) Lee,

Darius Lee, Amy Elliott (Ben) West, Eric (Dawn) Elliott, Diana Elliott (Chris) Dunnavant,

Johnny (Mindy) Elliott, John (Annabelle) Arellano, and Victoria Arellano; and fifteen

great-grandchildren, Blake and Katherine Armstrong, Alanah and Kade Buck, Juliette

Fuselier-Schwahn, Savannah, Charlotte and Graham Lee, Benjamin and Wyatt West,

Kathryn and Chase Elliott, Clara Dunnavant, and Indigo and Prudence Arellano.

Ann was born to parents Inez and William Claxton and raised in Clinton, KY with her

older siblings Bill and Beverly. She attended Hickman County High School, was

Valedictorian of her class, and later matriculated at Murray State University receiving

dual Bachelor degrees in Mathematics and Chemistry. She met the widower, Frank

James Schwahn, while working at her first post-graduate job as an engineer at Southern

Bell. They were married in 1965 and joined his two pre-teen children, Frank and Suejette,

in Sandy Springs, GA. Terri and Scott were born shortly afterward.

After Frank James’s death in 1981, Ann married the widower, Mayo Jack Elliott, in 1985.

The couple remained head-over-heels in love and contrived to make every day an

adventure. Ann and Jack enjoyed countless hours volunteering at Apostles Lutheran

Church Daycare, traveling the world together, and playing with their local grands and

great-grands. Upon Jack’s death in 2012, Ann moved to Oak Ridge, TN to be close to

her son, Scott. Terri moved to TN in 2016 to spend time with her also. She lived mostly

independently surviving the fear and isolation of COVID-19 thanks to her many

dedicated pen pals, her eagerness to read and learn, and the kindness of friends and

loved ones. She enjoyed helping other seniors at Keystone Adult Day Program and

found solace and hope studying the scriptures with others at church. It was common for

Ann to burst into exuberant song – often an old Baptist hymn or a nursery rhyme tune

from her childhood – whenever a memory hit. She had a lovely, joyful singing voice.

Heartfelt thanks to her gentle caregivers at Autumn Care Assisted Living and Smoky

Mountain Hospice for easing her transition from this life to her next with love and

compassion.

A graveside gathering will be held at 10am on Saturday, June 10, 2023 at Arlington

Memorial Park’s Sunrise Chapel in Sandy Springs, GA. In lieu of flowers, the family

requests donations to the Tennessee Memory Disorders Foundation at www.tmdf.org.