Joe Oliver Elliot of Saratoga Springs, NY died Monday, January 20, 2020 at the Home of the Good Shepherd Saratoga Residence. He was 96 years old and just weeks away from his 97th birthday.

Joe was born February 8, 1923 in Ames, Iowa, the son of Jay Franz and Rose Valere (Johnson) Elliot.  He graduated from Ames High School in 1940 and from Iowa State University with a degree in physics and mathematics in 1943. He went on to graduate school at Columbia University where he received a master's degree in 1947 and to the University of Maryland where he was awarded a Ph. D. in 1955 for his studies in nuclear physics.

During World War II, Joe worked for the Department of the Navy developing mines and depth charges. He joined the staff of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. in 1949 as a research physicist and his early years were spent measuring reaction rates of nuclear weapons.  Following the completion of a nuclear reactor at the Laboratory, he was named head of the facility where he continued studies of scattering of low energy nuclear particles.

In recognition of his scholarship and leadership he was awarded a year's sabbatical at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada in 1968.  There his studies were concentrated in the field of oceanography.  When he returned to the Naval Research Laboratory, he headed the Oceans and Atmospheric Sciences Division.  He was awarded the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award as director of the Laboratory's Task Group for Non-Acoustic Anti-Submarine Warfare.

He was a member of the American Physical Society, the American Geophysical Union, Sigma Xi, the physics honorary society Sigma Pi Sigma, the mathematics honorary society Pi Mu Epsilon and Phi Mu Alpha, the honorary music fraternity. He was the author of numerous scientific papers.

Following retirement from the Laboratory in 1982, Joe was appointed as an associate professor in the computer science department at Prince George's Community College in Largo, MD.  After 12 years of teaching he retired for a second time, and he and the late Mrs. Elliot moved to Saratoga Springs, NY.

In Saratoga Springs, Joe was a member and elder of the Presbyterian New England Congregational Church.  He was active in the Academy for Lifelong Learning of Empire State College, the Skidmore adult lecture series, the Interlaken Homeowners Association and the Resident Council of Prestwick Chase.

Joe was an avid traveler and photographer. He enjoyed Elderhostels, river cruises and travel to many foreign countries. He was also an accomplished pianist and looked forward to the many summer concert offerings at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

He was predeceased by his wife of 47 years, Lois Helen (Torok), in 1998 and by his brother Homer Freeman Elliot. He is survived by a son Stephen Charles Elliot of Tampa, FL; a daughter Louise Ann (Lou Ann) Stewart and son-in-law Charles V. Stewart of Clifton Park, NY; granddaughters Laura Stewart Lyeth (Eric) of Boston, MA and Carolyn Rose Stewart of New York City; a nephew Roger Dennis Elliot of Little Rock, AR; and a niece Rose Ann Elliot of Rockport, TX.

The family would like to thank the staff of Home of the Good Shepherd and Saratoga Hospice for their care and compassion.

A memorial service will be held at the Presbyterian New England Congregational Church, 24 Circular Street, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 at 2 pm on Saturday, February 15.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Presbyterian New England Congregational Church or the American Heart Association .