David John Elliott, Charleston, 88, passed away on May 16, 2023. Born March 29, 1935, in London, England to Alan Manton Elliott and Dr. E. Mary Hackett Elliott. Educated at Dartington Hall, England, he emigrated to the US at age 17 where he attended Trinity College, Connecticut, and was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha. He enlisted in the National Guard and became a naturalized citizen.

He is survived by his wife of nearly 65 years, Sallie Lou Johnson Elliott; daughter Gwen Farwick and husband, Donald, grandsons Jackson and Logan Farwick of Cincinnati; son Jeff Elliott and wife Susannah Elliott; grandchildren Sam Elliott and Susie Elliott of Charleston; several Hackett relatives in Victoria, BC, Canada.

After 37 years with Procter & Gamble as the director of international trade, and serving as deputy assistant secretary at the US Department of Commerce under the Carter and Reagan administrations, Dave and Sallie retired to Kiawah Island. There he became a member of the Photo Club, and they were members of the Kiawah Club.

He led the Naturalist Group and founded the Kiawah Conservancy in 1997. On its behalf, he produced several videos on Kiawah's habitat preservation. In 2022, he was honored as its founding chairperson, receiving the 2022 Legacy Award. These projects led to collaborations across the world that produced a PBS-promoted documentary and several books, all focused on Mark Catesby, a 17th-century naturalist and painter from England who studied the flora and fauna of the Carolinas and the Bahamas.

David's life work led to the creation of the Catesby Centre at USC; an appointment as a member of the Linnean Society of London; an honorary member of the Royal Society, and the Order of the Palmetto: South Carolina's highest civilian honor.

His ashes will be combined with his wife's at a later date, to be scattered on an outgoing tide.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Mark Catesby Centre at the University of South Carolina and the Kiawah Conservancy.