Living On: Family, Friends Ensure ‘Moose’s’ Legacy Endures

by Janice Penix

It is said grief is a process. After the loss of a loved one, each individual finds his or her own way to mourn, to cope with the void death leaves behind.
For Ryan Elkins’ family and friends, the best way to grieve his passing was to ensure his legacy lives on.

“To see someone who was such a good person die so young, it is frustrating,” Ryan’s childhood friend Cody Vaught said. “You don’t understand God’s plan. But when someone who had a light inside him is taken away so early, it means we can honor them by trying to live like them, by how we act towards other people, how we help others. We can keep shining the light that he had.”
The son of Kenney and Janet Elkins of Clarksville, Ryan died in 2017 at the age of 33. Known to his friends as “Moose,” he was a graduate of Clarksville High School, where he was a talented member of the Panther golf team. So it was logical when his family and friends sought a way to make sure Ryan’s legacy endured, they looked to the golf course.

In 2018, the Ryan Elkins Scholarship Foundation was formed and the inaugural golf tournament benefiting Clarksville senior golf team members was held. In the eight years since, the foundation has given back more than $15,000 in scholarships and other items to benefit the Clarksville golf team and community.

For the full story, see the Oct. 1 edition of The Graphic, found online and in businesses throughout Johnson and Franklin counties.

Photo: The Elkins family includes Ethan Williams (front); and (back row, from left) Renae Elkins, Kenney Elkins, Janet Elkins, Randa Elkins Williams, Nathan Williams and Owen Williams.