Meda Nell Elmore

Meda Nell Elmore, 96, passed peacefully into the arms of the Lord on December 30, 2022 at Asbury Health and Rehabilitation Center in Charlotte, NC. Nell was born October 30, 1926 in Sheffield, Alabama to the late Herbert Lewis Sanders and Nellie Graham Sanders. She is preceded in death by her husband of 61 years Kelly Lee Elmore, Jr., sister Dorothy Sanders Robertson (Talmadge Webster) and brother Thurmond Samuel Sanders (Dean). Nell is survived by three sons, Kelly Lee Elmore III (Joann), Houston, TX, Phillip Sanders Elmore (Lee), Alpharetta, GA, Charles McDowell Elmore, Apopka, FL and five grandchildren - Elizabeth Rankin Elmore, Athens, GA, Sarah Rose Hartsell (Bradley), Bristol, TN, Margaret Graham Elmore, Houston, TX, Lauren Lee Elmore, Brooklyn, NY, and Alejandra McDowell Rivard (Dylan), St. Cloud, FL.

Nell’s life was on the move for much of her youth as her father was a carpentry foreman building TVA dams along the Tennessee River during the depression. She graduated from high school in Louden, TN during the war years. In 1948, as an Army Nursing Corp student, she graduated from St. Mary’s Hospital nursing school, Knoxville, TN, as a Registered Nurse. She practiced nursing in Tennessee where she met Kelly, fell in love, and married in 1951.

Prior to retiring to Marietta, Nell and Kelly lived in Ashtabula, OH, Fonthill, ON Canada, Houston, TX, and Tigard, OR. They were longtime Marietta residents and active members of Christ United Methodist Church, Rotary and Betsey Mills Club. In addition to raising three boys, Nell was accomplished at all types of arts and crafts including painting, flower arranging, furniture refinishing, gardening, and decoupage. Nell and Kelly relocated to Charlotte, NC in 2011 due to declining health and to be closer to family. Nell was a loving and caring wife, mother, sister and especially grandmother as she adored the girls she never had.

Funeral services will be held 1:00 pm, Saturday, January 7, 2023, at the Marietta Chapel of Cawley & Peoples Funeral Home with Cheryl Arnold officiating.  Burial will follow in Putnam Cemetery in Devola. Family will greet friends for one hour prior to services at the funeral home on Saturday.