Earl Sanders "Sandy" Elliott, Jr.

Earl Sanders "Sandy" Elliott died Tuesday, July 7 at the age of 72 after a long and valiant battle with pulmonary fibrosis. George Bernard Shaw once wrote, "a gentleman puts more into the world than he takes out of it." Never was there anyone who epitomized this definition of a gentleman more than Sandy. Sandy was born August 8, 1947, in Tulsa. He graduated from Edison High School in 1965, then continued his education at the University of Oklahoma, where he was a member of the Pride of Oklahoma marching band. He graduated from OU in 1969 and entered the University of Oklahoma School of Medicine.After graduating from medical school in 1973, he did his residency in Internal Medicine at OU Health Sciences Center, where he won an Aesculapian teaching award. Upon completing his training, he joined the Oklahoma City Clinic, where he was awarded the Blesh-Rucks Award as Outstanding Physician, served on the Board of Directors and as Clinic Vice-President, and was the director of the Quality Care Committee.Sandy moved his practice to Integris Health in 1998. He served on the Board of Directors of Integris Health Partners, as well as the Integris Quality Committee. His service to the Quality Committee lasted for twenty years, many of them as chairman. Upon his retirement, the Earl S. Elliott Award for Quality was established and named for him, to be presented annually for excellence in achieving quality medical care. To hundreds of Oklahomans, he was Dr. Elliott and to many others he was always just Sandy. He truly loved and cared about his patients and would often preface a joke or story by saying, "I heard it from a patient who is also a friend." In his 44 years of practice, he saw many generations of the same families, treating some for 30 or 40 years. As a tribute to his many years of service, Mayor David Holt issued a Proclamation declaring May 22, 2020 as Dr. Earl Sanders "Sandy" Elliott Day.Until his health failed, he was a member of Downtown Rotary, Men's Dinner Club and the Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club. He was also a proud charter member of the Rat's Ass Drinking Club. Sandy loved travel, cars, the Sooners, the Thunder, music, movies, Broadway plays, vintage electric fans, his house at the lake, airplanes and ice cream. He would tell you his deep love of his wife Jane was at the top of the list, but she claims she was probably tied with ice cream.When Sandy and Jane married in 1995, his daughters Tricia and Tracy were joined by step-children Lori and Tyler Fixley. Their blended family began with a wedding and family honeymoon at Disney World. He was an indescribably wonderful and involved parent to all four children and became a much beloved "Pops" to nine grandchildren. By the time the family took their last big vacation together in June 2019, their family of six had grown to nineteen.Sandy is survived by his wife Jane and children Tricia Stephens and husband Paul; Tracy Morris and husband Matt; Lori Winland and husband Chris; Tyler Fixley and wife Lindsey; grandchildren Coleman and Lucy Stephens; Henry, Alex, and Charlie Winland; Ethan and Madeline Morris; and Max and Olivia Fixley; sister Jeri Hunter and husband David; and nephew Brian Hunter and wife Leslie.We believe the best way to honor this dedicated physician is to hold no public funeral, as he cared too deeply about the health of others to wish to be a part of anything that might endanger it. A private, socially-distanced memorial will be held for immediate family.Sandy received attentive and compassionate medical care from Dr. Mark Fixley, who made countless house calls, and from Crossroads Hospice. We extend our heartfelt thanks to both.If you would like to honor Sandy with a donation, he admires the work of the Oklahoma City Food Bank and Infant Crisis Services, who work locally to help those who are hungry and in need.