Fred “Freddy” Allen Elliott, Jr.

Garner – Fred Allen Elliott, Jr., 56, passed away Tuesday. Affectionately and most widely known as “Freddy” to his friends, family and loved ones, he was born at Betsy Johnson in Dunn, NC on March 7, 1962. Freddy had pneumonia and was very sick after he was born. The doctors gave him a 50% chance of survival. Contrasting his fighting start, Freddy began playing Garner Ball at the age of 5 and became an amazing athlete in the coming years and into adulthood. Finding out he needed corrective lenses for his vision as a sophomore baseball player, he became a major threat to coaches all across the state in the ensuing 2 years, with his vision optimized! After one year on recommendation to ECU for a baseball scholarship, he explains that time as more than challenging, as the college coach was insistent on totally changing his batting stance. BUT God who knew all along what Freddy’s destiny should be, opened the door for him to learn Optometry, the secret that made him a feared opponent as a teenager playing sports. Freddy had 37 years in the optical business, beginning as an apprentice for an Optometrist and an Eye Surgeon. He learned to grind lenses by hand and machine, as that’s how eye glasses were made at that time. He also repaired huge machines and ran a lab. It was all turnkey back then, and when you had an Optician who knew how to grind lenses by hand to fill a vision prescription, you had the best Optician in the state. Freddy truly ministered sight to more patients than it would take a long time to count. He never forgot what a wonderful gift vision wasfrom God, as he knew firsthand. Freddy loved Jesus. He loved to see that the clock may happen to be 3:16 when he glanced at it. He loved music and he loved his friends and family, especially his Pa (Fred Allen Elliott, Sr, affectionately dubbed PA for short for Paternal Ancestor), and they always ended telephone calls with a debonair “Au Revoir!!” I miss that very much lately. He also adored his baby brother Tony Len Elliott, who he affectionately called “Macaroni”. Freddy was “Freddy Spaghetti” or most of the time at the beginning of a phone call, “Hey Macaroni!” I’ve heard the reply from Tony sometimes just “Hey Sghetti!” He loved his baby Lil Bit, a beautiful fawn colored chihuahua that Freddy raised from a baby. He loved his Mama, Shirley Faye Stephenson Elliott. He was the apple of her eye, and the feeling was mutual. Freddy reminded me many times that he had his Mama’s middle name as his initials “FAE” (Faye). Miss Shirley preceded Freddy to Heaven to wait with Jesus on September 13, 2013. It gives me a tremendous amount of joy and thankfulness to know that Freddy spent this Valentine’s Day with Mama and Jesus. He is survived by his wife Wendy Sexton Elliott, his Pa Fred Allen Elliott Sr. and his brother Tony Len Elliott of Garner. He is also survived by many beloved Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and lifelong friends. A funeral service will be held on Saturday at 12:00 PM at Bryan-Lee Funeral Home, Garner. Burial will follow at Montlawn Memorial Park, Raleigh. The family will receive friends on Friday from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Bryan-Lee Funeral Home, Garner.