Marie was born on September 12, 1917 in Magoffin County, Kentucky to Adele (Della) Cisco (nee Ferguson), a homemaker, and Dedia Cisco, a school teacher.
After high school, she worked her way through Campbellsville College (now Campbellsville University). She graduated in 1939, a time when less than four percent of American women had graduated from college.
In 1943 she married Herschel McKinley Elam, a sergeant in the U.S. Army who fought in WWII. After the war, they had two sons, Dariel McKinley (1946) and Robin Lee (1948). The family lived in Valley Station in southwest Jefferson County.
Marie enjoyed a long, rewarding career as a kindergarten teacher. Any mention of “her” kids brought an instant smile of wonderment to her face that was a thrill to witness.
In 1959 she became a founding member of the Ashby Lane Baptist Church. She taught Sunday school for decades, and she mortgaged her home to help construct the original church building.
Marie outlived all three men in her family. Husband Herschel died in 1969, son Rob followed in 2000, and son Dariel passed away this April. She is survived by Dariel’s son Eric and Rob’s daughters Rhonda and Robin.
Visitation will be held on Sunday, June 26 from 2 to 6 p.m., and again Monday morning, June 27, from 9 a.m. to noon, at the Advantage Funeral Home Hardy Chapel, 10907 Dixie Highway in Valley Station.
Funeral services will be held there at noon on Monday, June 27. Burial will follow at Louisville Memorial Gardens, 4400 Dixie Highway in Shively.
In lieu of flowers, Eric suggests that friends donate either to the Hildegard House, Inc., P.O. Box 5613, Louisville 40255, which runs a free hospice for people who either have no family or no resources; or to the Ashby Lane Baptist Church, 6617 Ashby Lane, Louisville 40272.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.AdvantageHardyChapel.com for the Elam family.
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