Mary Ellen Cromer

Saturday, January 31, 2026, marks the passing of Mary Ellen Brock Cromer. While her family is saddened by her loss, there is also joy. Her months of pain and struggle are over, and she is now in the company of so many family and loved ones in heaven who have passed on before her.

Ellen was born on May 16, 1944, in Seneca, South Carolina to Dennis Calvin Brock, Sr. and Margaret Elizabeth Fitzgerald Brock. On July 25, 1958, Ellen married Thomas Neal Cromer in Calhoun Falls, South Carolina. They made their home in Elberton, GA. Neal passed a few days before their 65th anniversary in 2023. She was preceded in death by her siblings Curtis Alvord Fitzgerald, Margie Dora Gillis, Rachel Annette Pless, Janet Elizabeth Barnes, and Dennis Calvin Brock, Jr.

In addition to her one living sister, Mamie Kathryn Roberts, Ellen is survived by her daughters, Melisande (Mel) Marie (Doug) Jackson of Milledgeville, GA and Laurie Amanda (Steve – deceased) Kiriakos of Elberton, GA; grandchildren: Lauren Ashley Jackson, Andrew Clay Jackson and Sara Elizabeth Jackson (Shane) Riner; and her greatest and final joy in life, her great-grandchild – Anna Grace Riner of Milledgeville, GA.

As a young married couple, Ellen and Neal learned how to work together to create a meaningful life together. They bought land and created a farm: clearing trees; running fencing; building a dam for a pond; raising beef cattle, chickens, hogs, rabbits; and extensive gardening. And to fund this paradise they were building, Ellen took on a variety of extra jobs, working as: teacher’s aide at Beaverdam Elementary, greenhouse worker/delivery person at Davis Floral, drugstore clerk at Scotty Drugs, shoe salesperson/manager at Sky City and Pic ‘N’ Pay shoes, and then she found her passion as a florist, first opening her own shop Cromer’s Floral in Bowman, GA. and later utilizing her talents in the floral department at Deal’s Food City in Royston, GA. At each job location, Ellen was known for her work ethic and customer service. She supported her girls: serving as their tutor, sewing their clothes, teaching Sunday school, supporting them by transporting to a multitude of 4-H and band events, and working behind the scenes as a booster. She supported Neal in his love of music; opening their home throughout the years as Neal’s bands rehearsed hours and hours in their dining room. Ellen was a guiding light to anyone who was lucky enough to spend time with her, offering them her strength and providing a strong moral compass balanced with love and gentleness. She was quiet about her faith, but her beliefs ran deep.

A special thank you to those who were such a blessing and gave her such great care this year: Janice Childers, Carol Cline, Dr. Jonathan Poon, and the exceptional staff of Empyrean Hospice.

A private graveside burial will be held at a later date at Latimer Cemetery in Calhoun Falls, SC. 

Please feel free to donate in memory of Ellen Cromer to a local charity.

Berry Funeral Home and Crematory of Elberton is in charge of the arrangements for Mary Ellen Brock Cromer.