Elmer Bryant English
March 9, 1923 to August 4, 2017

Elmer Bryant English was born Friday, March 9, 1923 in West, Holmes County, Mississippi to William Hilrey English and Meta Martha Smith English. He was the youngest of 7 siblings; Andrew, I H, Barrett, Vivian, Martha, and Stella. As a child he lived on the family farm in Mississippi where he worked in the fields, enjoyed swimming in the creek, and going to a one room school. He was a WWII Army veteran, enlisting at the age of 19 in 1943. After leaving the military he moved to Memphis TN, married Katie Lea Whitten in 1952, and purchased a ‘mini’ farm in the Shelby Forest area where he had a vegetable garden for 60 years, fruit trees, and muscadine vineyards. Elmer loved the outdoors. He was an avid deer, turkey and squirrel hunter. He enjoyed running trot lines on the Mississippi River, camping, and jug fishing at Sardis Lake. Throughout his 94 years of life, he was a beekeeper, winemaker, a builder who built sheds to storage buildings to chicken coop to a cabin at Toone, he worked as a Foreman for the Shelby County Penal Farm for 23 years, enjoyed a good game of Rook the ‘English Way’, a knife collector, a gun collector, a stray dog collector, a hiker, the Birch tree carver of EB + KW, a wild flower gather on Mother’s Day, a good dad, and a good husband. He would say, ‘When I’m in the woods, sitting on a deer stand, surrounded by the wonders of nature, this is where I feel the closest to God.’ He will be missed and remembered for he is no longer in our presences, but in the presences of God.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Katie Lea Whitten English and children, Rhonda Lea English and husband David Lown of Cary NC, Elmer Vallis and wife Lucy Underwood English of Memphis TN, and Elwyn Arnold and wife Lady Bird Rose English of Memphis TN.

He is also survived by six grandchildren and eight great grandchildren;

Grandson Daniel Jack Lown and great grandkids Brannon Daniel and Samantha Ansley Lown of Cary NC, grandson Derek Jay Lown of Fuquay Varina NC, and granddaughter Jennifer Anne Lown Tart and great grandkids Reuben Cole and Ezekiel James Tart of Cary NC.

Granddaughter Elisabeth Lucy Klutze and great grandkids Jonathon C. Dunn, Mckenzie P. Dunn, and Landon J. N. Crisp. Step-grandkids Donna Maxwell and Charlotte Ray, and step-great grandkid Haley Ray.