John Christopher Elrod

1969 - 2015

October 27, 1969 - October 28, 2015

John Christopher Elrod was born in Wasco, California and spent most of his life in the Bay Area and Yuba City. He graduated from Valparaiso University with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and spent most of his career in the building industry.

An ardent lover of music, he was a self-taught musician who earned a degree from Cogswell College in Cupertino in Electronic Music Engineering and wrote a number of his own songs. A poet and a romantic at heart, he yearned for travel and adventure and would have loved to explore Middle Earth or the Star Wars Universe. Had he lived during another time, he would have been an heroic warrior, overcoming evil. As it was, he remained satisfied to battle during the fantasy and role-playing games he engaged in for most of his life.

Never one to be content with cursory knowledge, he read voraciously on subjects that interested him, the latest being mountain climbing extreme peaks. John was always fascinated by military history, especially World War II and shared his extensive library - both the books themselves and the knowledge he'd gained from them. He indulged this interest by creating dozens of intricate models of airplanes, tanks and ships - some of his own design. He was fanatical in his love of the San Francisco Giants, buoyed by their three recent championships. His last few years were spent following his passion for history in the graduate program at Chico State University, with the ultimate goal to share that knowledge with students.

John was deeply compassionate, with a quick wit and sharp tongue. John was a man guided by faith, who loved generously, and was profoundly loved in return. "End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it." J.R.R. Tolkien

He leaves behind his mother Linda; brother Steve and his wife Julie, and their children: Andy, Meredith and Jeremy; his sister Margaret Gilbert and her husband David; his best friend Joel Garcia and wife Karen, and their children: Maria, Alex and Sophia (to whom he was Uncle John); along with aunts, uncles and cousins, especially Carol Akin and her husband Jamie, and son, Sam.

His father, the Rev. J. Murray Elrod, preceded him in death.

Private services will be held at St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery in Chicago Park, California.

Donations can be made to the Sierra Club or a charity of your choice.

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