~ IN MEMORY ~
Helen Butler Elphingstone, widow of DL Capt. Harold R.
‘Cotton’ Elphingstone
June 3, 1922 ~ January 14, 2015
Notification with the passing of Delta Golden Wings member
Mrs. Helen Elphingstone, age 92, widow of DL Captain Harold Ryan ‘Cotton’
Elphingstone who passed in 2009. Both obituaries appear below. The
Elphingstones had most recently resided at 2484 Black Fox Trail, East Point GA.
Helen’s family can also be reached c/o daughter Carol E. Sheehan at
25 Priscilla Way , Newnan GA 30265-3806 ... (770) 304-2022
To view/sign the online guestbook and to view the photo
gallery, please visit http://www.dignitymemorial.com/carmichael-hemperley-funeral-home-east/en-us/index.page
Thank you,
~Carol for the PCN
Helen B. Elphingstone, age 92, of East Point, GA, passed away Jan. 14,
2015. She was born in New Jersey but grew up in Memphis, TN in an apartment over
the family business; a chicken hatchery. She attended Memphis State and was
married in 1944 after WW II began. After the war they moved to Atlanta where her
husband (Cotton), flew airplanes for Delta Air Lines. She was active in the East
Point Women's Club, Lakeside Country Club, and her children's schools. She also
enjoyed her flower gardens, crafts and being near her grandchildren. She was
married fro 65 years. She was preceded in death by her husband, Harold R.
"Cotton" Elphingstone. Surviving are sons: Robert Ryan Elphingstone, William
Scott (Susan) Elphingstone, Charles Parker (Nancy) Elphingstone, daughter: Carol
E. (Tom) Sheehan, grandchildren: Lisa Hughes, Joseph Elphingstone, Scott
Elphingstone, Ryan Elphingstone, Beth E. Petree, Shelby Sheehan, Connor Sheehan,
Collin Sheehan, great grandchildren: Dillon Hughes, Ashley Hughes, Jonathan
Hughes, Hayden Petree, Emmett Elphingstone. Funeral services will be held
Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015 at 2:00 pm at Historic Carmichael-Hemperley Funeral Home,
2968 East Point St., East Point, GA 30344. The family will receive friends Sat.,
Jan. 17, 2015 from 2-4pm at the funeral home. Interment will follow at a later
date in Memphis, TN.
Published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Jan. 16, 2015
- See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/atlanta/obituary.aspx?n=Helen-B-Elphingstone&pid=173868356#sthash.OurJeWNv.dpuf
--------------------------
Captain Harold R. Elphingstone: Avid aviator, golfer also
watched birds A Delta pilot for 31 years, he disliked having to retire. :
Newspaper Obituary and Death Notice
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The (GA) - Monday, May 11,
2009
Harold Elphingstone could be outside on the porch or messing
around in the yard when he'd hear the sound of a bird. He'd turn quiet, listen
for a bit, then name the feathered vertebrate.
"He'd say, 'That's a redheaded woodpecker,' or name some other
bird," said Helen B. Elphingstone, his wife of 65 years. "Bird-watching was
something he took up in the Boy Scouts, and he stayed with it. He could identify
birds by song and plumage and so forth, and he'd watch for them in the spring
and fall when they were traveling north or south."
Bird-watching and playing golf were two hobbies Mr.
Elphingstone pursued when he retired as a Delta pilot in 1978. He wasn't ready
to step down from the cockpit; a Delta Air Lines policy required pilots to
retire at 60, his wife said.
"He would liked to have stayed on another five or 10 years,"
she said, "but that was the rule. A lot of airlines had that same policy back
then. He always said he was glad to have a job that was fun. He got to go places
all over the country."
Harold Ryan "Cotton" Elphingstone, 90, of East Point died
Thursday from complications of diabetes and kidney failure at South Fulton
Medical Center. The funeral will be 2 p.m. today at Carmichael-Hemperley Funeral
Home, which is handling arrangements.
A native of Memphis, Mr. Elphingstone was nicknamed "Cotton"
because his hair had the distinct color of the fiber. He briefly attended
Memphis State University, now known as the University of Memphis, before his
military draft number was called.
"His draft number was No. 158," his wife said. "He left
college after two years and went into the U.S. Army Air Corps. He got into
flying because that's what he liked so much. He delivered airplanes to the
battlefields during World War II."
After six years in the service, Mr. Elphingstone was honorably
discharged with the rank of captain. He still wanted to fly, so in 1947 he
applied to Delta Air Lines. He worked for the company for 31 years before he
retired in the late 1970s. For him, the longer the flight, the better, his wife
said.
"He liked the West Coast trips most of all, places like San
Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco," she said. "He could get his time in, then
have two or three days off."
For Mr. Elphingstone, the thought of retirement wasn't easy,
said his son Bill F. Elphingstone of Calhoun. "[Flying] was his profession, his
occupation, and he was very exact about it," he said. "It's hard to give up
something you enjoy."
Mr. Elphingstone, an Eagle Scout, collected stamps. He also
was an avid golfer who had belonged to Atlanta's Lakeside Country Club and, more
recently, Eagle's Landing in Stockbridge. In 1994, the then-76-year-old shot
under his age 10 times at Eagle's Landing, according to a story that appeared in
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Other survivors include two additional sons, Robert R.
Elphingstone of Stockbridge and Charles P. Elphingstone of McDonough; a
daughter, Carol E. Sheehan of Newnan; eight grandchildren and four
great-grandchildren.
Harold ELPHINGSTONE: Newspaper Obituary and Death
Notice
--Date of Birth: Monday May 13, 1918
--Date of Death: Thursday May 07, 2009
--Age at Death: 90 years, 11 months, 24 days
--Hire date: 11-24-1947
--Retired: 1978, age 60
Captain Harold R. "Cotton" Elphingstone, 90, of East Point
died Thursday, May 7th, 2009. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Mr. Elphingstone
was an Eagle Scout. He served his country during World War II and was honorably
discharged from the U. S. Army Air Corps with the rank of Captain. He was a
retired pilot/captain with Delta Airlines having served for thirty-one years. He
was an avid golfer, former member of Lakeside Country Club and was a member of
Eagle's Landing Country Club. He is survived by his wife, Helen B. Elphingstone
of East Point; sons, Robert R. Elphingstone of Stockbridge; William S.
Elphingstone and wife Susan of Calhoun; Charles P. Elphingstone and wife Nancy
of McDonough; daughter, Carol E. Sheehan and husband Thomas of Newnan; eight
grandchildren; four great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held on
Monday, May 11th, 2009 at two o'clock in Carmichael-Hemperley Funeral Home, 2968
East Point Street, East Point, Georgia 30344. The family will receive friends
from noon until two o'clock. Interment will be in Memorial Park Cemetery in
Memphis, Tennessee.
