John A. (Pete) Elliott moved to Abilene in 1929, one year after graduation from the Dallas School of Embalming. He married the former Mittie Higginbotham in 1932. They opened Elliot’s Funeral Home in 1933. This was considered a bold move by many in the Abilene community who were skeptical of the survival of new businesses during the era of the Great Depression. Times were not easy for the Elliotts. Two funeral cars, which they had ordered, sat on a railroad car for days because they did not have enough money to get them off. Thanks to the generosity of the J.M. Radfords, however, they were finally able to retrieve them.
In order to be available to the community at all times, Pete and Mittie chose to build their own home next door to the funeral home located at Orange and North Second Street. It was not unusual for people to knock on their door at all hours when assistance was needed. Not only did the Elliotts offer funeral service; they also provided ambulance service to the Abilene community.
When a death occured, Pete and Mittie would prepare the body and then return the deceased to his home. Upon arrival home, friends and family would gather to “sit up” with the body until the time of the service. Mittie would return later with fresh cake and coffee for the mourners. In those days, friends dug the graves and filled them following the services.
At a time when few people were left unaffected by the ravages of the Depression, many people did not have the ability to pay a funeral director for his services. However, that did not prevent Pete and Mittie from providing funerals to them. Still, many families insisted on fulfilling their financial obligations to the Elliotts and did so in the form of goats, chickens, or pigs.
Mittie gave birth to a daughter, Jo Ann, shortly after she and Pete founded the funeral home. In 1939, Mittie received her funeral directors license. During World War II, Jo Ann remembered her father waiting at the depot to meet the escorts and receive the caskets of Abilene men-many who were just boys-who had gone off to fight. In particular, she recalled the crash of a plane in which twenty-six people were killed. The Elliotts opened their home to the Air Force and the families as identification of the dead went on for days. When a ship carrying ammonium nitrate burst into flames in the port of Texas City, Pete gathered up his gear and responded to the call for help. More than 500 people were killed in the fiery disaster.
After working as an ambulance carrier for many years, Pete helped bring air ambulance service to the Abilene area. He even obtained his own commercial pilot’s license. He loved to fly and fostered the same spirit in his daughter who learned to fly as well.
In 1947, Ellott’s Funeral Home moved to its present location at 542 Hickory Street. It had been the Batjer family home. The Elliotts added a chapel to the original structure and made other modifications, as they were financially able to do so.
After Jo Ann graduated from Abilene High School in 1953, she decided to follow in her parent’s professional footsteps. She attended the Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science, where she was one of only two women in her class. In 1958, Jo Ann married John Hamil, who was also a funeral director. Together, the Elliotts and the young Hamils worked to uphold the standards of excellence first established by Pete and Mittie.
Pete, a past president of the Texas Funeral Directors Association (TFDA), visited every funeral home in the state. On his journeys he collected photos and other memorabilia. His wish was to erect a building in Austin, which would house the offices of the Texas Funeral Directors Association and the State Board of Morticians as well as a funeral service museum.
When Pete died prematurely at the age of sixty-three, John continued working to fulfill Pete’s dream. After his death, Mittie, John, and Jo Ann carried on the tradition of dedicated service at the funeral home that the Elliotts had established so many years before. Remaining true to that tradition, Mittie proudly continued working at the funeral home until the time of her death at the age of eighty-nine in 1994.
In an effort to handle the increasing needs of a growing city, the family built another funeral home on Highway 277 in 1974. At that time, the name was changed to Elliott-Hamil Funeral Homes. The decade of the 1970s brought with it much change-not only for the city of Abilene but for the funeral business as well. Families were scattered across the country, and in some cases, around the world. This complicated funeral arrangements. State legislation increased paperwork for funeral homes. However, this did not deter the Elliott-Hamil family. As they successfully adapted to the ever-changing business world, they were mindful of the spirit on which Elliott-Hamil was originally built. They remembered to do business with compassion, kindness, and grace.
In the early ‘80s, John Hamil’s health began to fail. Beset with renal failure and frustrated with pain, John was still determined to servce the needs of his community. John scheduled his dialysis treatments to accomodate his responsibilites at the funeral home. In spite of his illness, he and JoAnn continued to work side-by-side just as the Elliots had before them.
John once dreamed of seeing a cemetery established on acreage surrounding the funeral home on Highway 277. His dream became a reality when he opened Elliott-Hamil Garden of Memories Cemetery there in 1996. When he died in 1998, a standing-room-only crowd turned out to honor his memory.
Today, the funeral home and cemetery staff continue to be a family of dedicated professionals serving all faiths. Our commitment is still that of Pete and Mittie Elliott: to be sensitive to the needs of West Texas families in every way.
