James “Jim” Henry Elliott, 75, of Leesburg, FL, died at 2:10 am, Monday, September 18, 2023 at his home in Leesburg, FL. Jim was born July 26, 1948 to Oscar “Jr” Rogers Elliott Jr. and Evelyn “Pat” Modesta O’Brian (aka O’Brien) Elliott. He grew up in Greenview, IL, and lived in and around Springfield, IL until his retirement in 2017. At age 44, Jim married Danna Marie Rawlings, aged 39, on 7 August 1992 in Springfield, IL, and they were married for over 31 years.
Preceding Jim in death were his parents and one half-sister, Molly Lou Yost.
He is survived by his wife, Danna M. Elliott. They had no children, but he is also survived by son, James “Steve” Stephen Elliott (Heather) of Decatur, IL; daughter, Pamela Jean Holman of Morton, IL; son, Eliot “Blake” Blake Elliott of Bremerton, WA; stepson, Jay Michael Bliefnick of Bellerica, MA; brother, Oscar “Roger” Rogers Elliott III (Jeong) of Greenview; sister, Evelyn “Michele” Michele Elliott Branson (Leonard) of Greenview; brother, Kim O’Brian Elliott (Dee) of Roswell, NM; several grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.
Jim went to school at Greenview, IL and graduated from Greenview High School in 1966. He farmed & raised cattle until his mid-30s, then worked at Northgate Amusement. However, Jim was most well known as being the founder and co-owner of Midwest Amusement, Inc., which he ran from January 2001 until April 2017, when he retired. He was also known for being the owner of JD’s Cues & Brews, a sports bar in Grandview, IL.
Jim was an avid sportsman, with preference to pool, trapshooting, plus rifle, bow hunting and golf.
For over 60 years, Jim played on many types of pool leagues, won several MVP awards and competed many times in Las Vegas for the National Championships.
In 1991 and 1992, Jim was primary in recruiting pool players for the first APA Leagues in and around Springfield and Jacksonville, IL. Run by Butch Delong, this league was the beginning of a new era to promote leagues combining beginners to master players, and the first to really promote pool leagues for women.
In July 1980, he won the 104th Illinois State Handicap Crown in Trapshooting, hitting 99 out of 100. The shoot was held at Mather Land O’Sports in Springfield, IL, as published in Sept 1980 Trap & Field Magazine.
He loved Deer Hunting. In 1993, Jim received an Award Certificate from the Buckmasters Whitetail Trophy Records with a score of 176 1/8 using a shotgun, and then in 2001 he received another Award Certificate from the Buckmasters Whitetail Trophy Records using a recurve cross bow plus the Pope and Young Club North American Bowhunting Big Game Records Award. His score was 154 2/8. Rack magazine published an article about Jim’s scores in the Sept 2002 issue.
During High School, Jim qualified in both Chorus and Band for the School Band of America and the School Chorus of America. He chose to tour Europe with the Chorus in 1964 and 1965.
A private burial will be held on November 3 at Calvary Cemetery with Reverend Calvin Miller.
A Tribute to Jim will be held Saturday, November 4 at Starship Billiards, consisting of a Pool Tournament, Food, and Celebration. Sign up will be from noon to 1pm, with the tournament starting at 1pm.
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