Melvin Roy Elder Sr.

Melvin "Red" Roy Elder, Sr., 80, a resident of Cleveland, passed away Monday, December 8, 2008 in an Alabama hospital. He was of the Christian faith. He was retired from Bowater after 32 years of service. Mr. Elder was the son of the late Sim Horace Elder and Emma Jane Digman Elder and was also preceded in death by three sisters and two brothers. He is survived by his wife Dorothy Alletta McCall Elder of Cleveland; four children and spouses: Gayle and Gene Vandergriff, Joan and Johnny Haney, Melvin Elder, Jr. and Kay and Mary Lynne Holder all of Cleveland; eight grandchildren: Keith Daugherty, Marc Daugherty, April Duncan, Aletta Jane Vandergriff, Adam Elder, Dallas Holder, Zachary Vandergriff and Laura Ann Elder; six great-grandchildren: Rebekah, Jacob and Janna Duncan, Taylor, Melissa and Jesse Daugherty; two sisters: Ernestine Cobb of Andalusia, Alabama and Syble Black of Tunnel Springs, Alabama; several nieces and nephews also survive. Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Thursday, December 11, 2008 in the chapel of Ralph Buckner Funeral Home with Reverend Jim Gibson officiating. Interment will follow in Sunset Memorial Gardens with a white dove release ceremony concluding the service. Pallbearers will be Dallas Holder, Adam Elder, Zachary Vandergriff, Patrick Dye, Jesse Poteet, Chris Cartwright, Jonathon Moseley and Brice Bynum. His family will receive friends from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association, 519 East 4th Street, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37403. We invite you to send a message of condolence and view the Elder family guestbook at www.ralphbuckner.com.