Mr. Johnny Thomas Eller, 76, of Statesville, passed away Monday, January 30, 2012 at Iredell Memorial Hospital following a lengthy illness.
He was born on April 17, 1935 in Wilkes County, NC, to the late James Calvin Eller and Martha Hamby Eller. He attended Iredell County Schools and on February 18, 1957 was married to Janice McLelland, who survives.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, Terry Eller.
In his early age he was employed at Beauty Maid Mills as a receiving supervisor and later worked at Hunt Manufacturing where he was supervisor of several departments before he retired in 1996. While at Hunt he coached the soft ball team for a number of years.
Johnny loved spending time at his mountain home in Boone, spending time with his grandchildren and great grandchildren, watching western movies, Tar Heel basket ball, and NASCAR racing.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by three children, Mark Eller (Angie) of Stony Point, Lynne Eller Bumgarner, of Statesville, and Donald Eller (Jane), of Tecumseh, MO. Five grandchildren, Josh Eller, Alex Harper, Ian, Cassidy, and Lyle Eller, and four great grandchildren, Jacob Merritt, Grace Eller, Cole, and Levi Harper.
A service to celebrate the life of Mr. Eller will be conducted 3:00 PM Thursday, February 2, 2012 in the Nicholson Funeral Home Chapel. Pastor Steve Warricks and Rev. Glenn Dancy will officiate. Burial will follow in the Mountain View United Methodist Church Cemetery. The family will visit with friends on Thursday afternoon 1:30 until 3:00 PM at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Mountain View Church Cemetery Fund, c/o Judy Miller, 121 Miller Cove Lane, Statesville, NC 28625 or to the Church or Charity of the donors choice.
The family would like to thank Dr. James Bradford and the staff of the Iredell Infusion Care for their love and support for Mr. Eller.
Online condolences may be made to the family at www.nicholsonfunerals.com
Nicholson Funeral Home is serving the family of Mr. Johnny Thomas Eller.
Janice, So sorry to hear about Johnny. All ways thought he was a class act. Kathleen remembers when she played on Hunt’s softball team and Johnny was the coach. Take care and your family are in our prayers.
Dear Aunt Janice and Family,
We are so saddened at the loss of our beloved Uncle Johnny. He was a wonderful, kind, loving man and was inspirational to all who knew him. We will treasure all of our wonderful memories over the years growing up and visiting NC and spending time with you all. He is now at peace and will be your guardian angel always. I wish I could be with you but know that my thoughts, prayers and love are with you always.
With my deepest sympathy and love,
Barbara Cuozzo