Donald B. Elliott, a pharmacist and former Carroll County Republican delegate, died Oct. 7 of bladder cancer at Citizens Care Center in Frederick. The New Windsor resident was 92.
“Don was a true statesman. He was my mentor, he taught me the ropes, was well-regarded by his peers and very attuned to his district,” said former Carroll County Delegate Susan W. Krebs, who served from 2003 to 2023. “He never said anything ill of anyone and was always positive, and when he spoke, people listened.”
Donald Brainard Elliott, son of Donald B. Elliott Sr., a bookkeeper, and Mary P. Marker Elliott, a registered nurse, was born in Baltimore and raised in Northeast Baltimore, where he graduated from Kenwood High School.
He was a descendant of Henry Samson, a passenger on the Mayflower, which arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620.
Mr. Elliott enlisted in the Navy in 1951 and served in the Hospital Corps until 1960. He later attained the rank of lieutenant commander and retired from the Naval Reserve in 1971.
Mr. Elliott graduated in 1957 from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and completed additional studies at St. John’s University in New York, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Chi fraternity.
In 1964, he married Jeanne Baker, a pharmacist. In 1968, the couple purchased New Windsor Pharmacy on Main Street in New Windsor. In 1975, they established the Union Bridge Pharmacy, which they owned and operated until his retirement in 1999.
Mr. Elliott’s entry into politics began when he worked with other citizens to obtain portable classrooms for New Windsor School and expand athletic fields for the local recreation council.
He was then appointed to the New Windsor Zoning Board and made an unsuccessful bid for the state House of Delegates in 1983 as a Republican. He ran again in 1987 and won election to the House of Delegates, where he represented District 4B, which included parts of Carroll and Frederick counties.
Mr. Elliott, Ms. Krebs and Nancy R. Stocksdale, who represented Carroll County from 1995 to 2015, shared an office.
A conservative legislator, he primarily served on the Environmental Matters Committee, the Health and Government Operations Committee and task forces focused on quality and affordable health care, long-term health care, and health care delivery.
“Doc Elliott, I always called him that because he was a pharmacist,” said Bruce C. Bereano, a longtime Annapolis lobbyist. “He brought expertise to health care issues, and was respected for his knowledge and veracity.”
Mr. Elliott’s legislative accomplishments included a bill requiring due process for those falsely accused of child abuse, a bill establishing five Carroll County commissioner districts and a 2014 bill that created a fairer distribution of state money for wastewater treatment plant construction and upgrades.
“Don helped get such significant legislation passed, such as the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Plan, and he made sure cover crops would be an instrumental part of that,” Krebs said. “He was always looking out for the farmers.”
In the legislature, he was a member of the Maryland Veterans Caucus, the Maryland Rural Caucus and the Sportsmen’s Caucus.
In 2010, he became the first Republican recipient of the Charles “Mac” Mathias Jr. Statesman Award, named in honor of the former longtime U.S. senator. The award, established in the House of Delegates, recognizes individuals who can work in a bipartisan manner.
Mr. Elliott was elected to the New Windsor Hall of Fame in 2015.
In his earlier years, he was a marathoner. He was a member of the Mayflower Society, the Mount Airy American Legion, VFW Post 8806 in Union Bridge and the Union Bridge Lions Club. His wife died in 2009.
He was an active communicant of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, 44 Frederick St., Taneytown, where a Mass of Christian Burial was held Thursday.
He is survived by his sons, Christopher W. Elliott, of New Windsor, Gregory S. Elliott, of Gaithersburg, and Douglas R. Elliott, of New Orleans; two sisters, Harriet Clingan, of Westminster, and Angela Hoffmann, of Troy, Michigan; and two grandchildren.
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