Hugh and Nancy Elliott will be the first to admit they live a blessed life. The Jupiter Island couple splits their time between Michigan and Florida and enjoys an active life filled with golf, travel, and good friendships. “We really just enjoy being with people, but they have to be able to laugh,” says Nancy. “We love to laugh.” Not surprisingly, she says this with a laugh.
Anyone who has the pleasure of meeting the Elliotts and experiencing their exuberance for life will not be surprised to learn that Hugh and Nancy are as generous as they are warm and friendly. The couple, along with their son, Chad, have supported many causes near and dear to their hearts through the family’s R Hugh Elliott Family Foundation, formed in 2008. Most recently, the Elliotts made a $10 million donation to establish the Elliott Family Center for Cardiac Electrophysiology at Jupiter Medical Center. The donation will allow JMC to expand its existing electrophysiology (EP) lab from one lab to two and support future growth and expansion of the JMC Robson Heart & Vascular Institute.
Hugh, who suffers from the most commonly diagnosed type of cardiac arrhythmia, AFib, understands the importance of supporting future growth in the treatment of heart arrhythmias. “It’s something a lot of people can get,” he says.
This latest donation is one of many the Elliotts have made to Jupiter Medical Center. The couple have been longtime supporters and passionate advocates for the hospital since coming to Palm Beach County over two decades ago, a move that almost didn’t happen.
The couple lived in Rochester, Michigan and was looking for a second home in Florida. “We found a home in Naples and were ready to close on a Tuesday,” recalls Nancy. Their son, who was a student at Florida State University, changed their minds about buying in Naples. “Chad told us, ‘I’m not going to be coming down there very often. It’s too old.’” The couple cancelled the closing and shifted their home search to Jupiter. They already had friends in the area and Chad was much more excited about visiting. This area “was more middle-aged and young people,” Nancy explains. They bought their home in 2002 and quickly settled into the Jupiter community.
The Elliotts enjoy spending time in Florida as well as in Michigan where they still have a home. Hugh remains active in Elliott Group International, the company he founded 50 years ago. Nancy describes her husband’s business success as “a true rags-to-riches story.”
In the early 1970s, Hugh had graduated high school and served two years in the Eighth Infantry Division of the United States Army. He was looking for a career path. At the time, the automotive industry was undergoing significant changes in manufacturing and distribution. Hugh became curious about the industry and automotive manufacturing. “I saw all the tape that was being used in Detroit and thought, that’s what I’m going to do,” says Hugh. In 1974, he founded Elliott Tape, later renamed Elliott Group International. The Auburn Hills, Michigan company is now one of the leading worldwide suppliers of automotive and industrial tape with offices in Michigan, Texas, and Singapore. Its products are shipped to more than 20 countries.
The company’s success enabled the Elliotts to form their family foundation through which Nancy, Hugh, and Chad fund a number of causes. Nancy, a retired schoolteacher, was the catalyst behind the family’s first donation to JMC in 2013. “Each of us gets to pick a cause” to fund, Nancy explains. “Being a mom, I have been taking my men to the ER because of sports forever. I figured I want [Jupiter Medical Center] to know who we are.”
Since then, the Elliotts have been generous to JMC with annual donations for areas of the hospital in need of funding, including neuroscientific research and the Johnny and Terry Gray Surgical Institute. The couple is excited about the growth at JMC. “Jupiter Medical Center is growing into a world-class hospital. We want to support them because it’s going to be, if not the best, then one of the top two hospitals in the state,” says Hugh.
For this couple who loves to laugh, the opportunity to give back brings them incredible joy. On the campus of Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan sits the Elliott Tower, which is a central gathering point for students. It bears an inscription that conveys the Elliotts’ deep belief in philanthropy: The true net worth of a person is what he does for others.