Welcome to the Memorial Website Dedicated to John M Elliott Jr

John's family has been working diligently since his passing to honor his legacy and to ensure ongoing operations of his favorite place on earth, the Dairy Depot.

"As lifelong residents in The Parks, John and I worked hard to make a difference in the lives of our family, friends, and customers," said Diane K. Elliott, owner of Dairy Depot. "Out of all of John’s accomplishments, owning the Dairy Depot was truly the most fulfilling and rewarding for him. For that reason, our family is dedicated to ensuring that his legacy lives on at Dairy Depot for future generations to come.”

John and Diane’s daughter, Tonya Lamia, has been leading beautification efforts in honor of John. “Thanks to overwhelming support from the community, our family was inspired to make investments and lead beautification initiatives that would have a long-term, positive impact in the region,” said Tonya Lamia, daughter of John and Diane Elliott. “Knowing how much John loved creating a special place for families and friends to gather in the summertime, there’s no better way to honor his legacy.”

In 2018, Tonya was recruited to serve in John's seat on the Greater Rockford Airport Authority Board of Commissioners, and she was hired in 2019 as Executive Director of The Parks Chamber of Commerce, where John served as a board member many years.

Recent beautification efforts in honor of John M. Elliott Jr include:

Beautification of the Dairy Depot business located at 5413 N. 2ndStreet:  The Dairy Depot logo (train locomotive with ice cream cone smoke stack and business name in clouds) has been installed on the building as a new Art Mural. A cow conductor has been added inside the train to connect meaning to existing cow spots on the building, and the service windows are positioned inside a new train car. The barrels and garbage cans were covered with cow spots to expand the brand into seating and parking areas, and new flower planters were installed along N. 2nd Street.

Beautification of the commercial building located at 5413 – 5423 N. 2nd Street: Improvements to the Dairy Depot building are complete, including removing old signage, power washing and painting,  installing new awnings, improving window and door frames, and replacing address numbers. Bliss Hair and Nail Studio relocated to the Dairy Depot building from their long-time location in downtown Rockford, and the salon is a wonderful addition to the neighborhood.

Economic development and public spaces:  “In addition to improvements made at the Dairy Depot building, we’re honored to be working with the City of Loves Park to spearhead neighborhood redevelopment and beautification projects,” said Lamia. “Together with the City of Loves Park, Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful, Transform Rockford, and Great Neighborhoods, we’re raising money to build new public parks at the intersection of River Lane and N. 2nd Street. We look forward to making announcements with community partners and sponsors in the months to come.”

The new Dairy Depot Art Mural and beautification improvements to the building were designed in collaboration with Mic Solon and Garret Rapp of Montel Customs. “We thank Solon and Garret for their tremendous talent and commitment to perfection, which propelled our vision to new heights,” said Lamia. “We also thank the community for their ongoing support and encourage everyone to share their photos and stories on Dairy Depot’s social media pages.”