Cleone Elrod

Cleone Carter Elrod, age 95, died peacefully in her sleep at Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community on October 31, 2023. She was preceded in death by her husband, J. Mitchell Elrod, Jr. in December 2017.

Cleone was born and grew up in Alma, Georgia among the youngest of eight children on a tobacco and crop farm. This experience instilled in her a strong work ethic and resourcefulness which she drew upon all her life. After high school, she moved to Atlanta to work for Retail Credit Company where she met and married Mitch. They raised their family in the Atlanta area until they moved to Asheville, North Carolina after their retirement. Cleone and Mitch were founding and active members of St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta.

Together, Cleone and Mitch traveled extensively including trips across the US and Canada, throughout Europe, and cruises to Alaska and Antarctica. Cleone will be remembered as an active volunteer at Sophie’s store at Deerfield and an avid walker, always greeting those she encountered with a warm smile. She is survived by a daughter Beverly and sons Edwin, Charles, and James, along with seven grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and a brother, Jimmy.
 
Her life will be remembered and celebrated at 10 a.m. on Saturday, December 9, 2023, in the Deerfield Healthcare Chapel.  In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community Residents Fund or the St Giles Memorial Garden Fund in care of Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community at 1617 Hendersonville Rd, Asheville, NC 28803, or to the J. Mitchell and Cleone Elrod Scholarship at Berry College, P.O. Box 490069, Mount Berry, GA 30149 or berry.edu/gift.

Groce Funeral Home at Lake Julian is assisting the family.