John Weldon McElroy

John Weldon McElroy left this earth to be with his Lord Jesus Christ and Savior on Friday, August 5, 2016 at 3:20 in the afternoon at Methodist Charlton Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. John was born on August 21, 1921 in Dallas, Texas. John would have turned 95 in 2 days this coming Sunday, August 21st.

John is preceded in death by his beloved wife of almost 70 years, Anna Maria Gabrielian McElroy, parents Henry Jackson McElroy and Hattie Griffith McElroy. John was born 5th of 9 siblings and was the last surviving sibling. He is preceded in death by brothers, Jimmy McElroy, Jack McElroy, Hugh McElroy, Robert McElroy, sister, Marguerite Redfern, brother, Daniel (Pete) McElroy, sister, Janie Pollard and youngest brother, Charles McElroy. John is also preceded in death by Father-in-law, Gabriele Gabrielian, Mother-in-law, Ersilia Gabrielian, Brothers-in-law, Luigi Gabrielian and Mario Gabrielian.

John is survived by daughters, Linda Rusche, husband Patrick, Marielle Potter, Silvia Wallace, husband Rodney, Norma Frisina, husband Patrick; son-in-love Michael Potter; and grandchildren Alana, Rheagan, Jason, Todd, Jeremy, 8 great-grandchildren, first cousin, Bill Tarter, sisters-in-law, Marcella Gabrielian and Adriana Gabrielian and numerous beloved nieces, nephews and cousins here in the US and in Rome, Italy. John is also survived by his beloved and constant companion and dog, Nina.

As a boy, John grew up in the DFW area where he attended schools in Venus and Maypearl and farmed with his family of 11 in various farming communities. As a young boy, one of those communities was Grand Prairie, Texas where he would later settle and start a family. John joined the Army shortly after WWII began and was a Sergeant stationed in Venice, Italy, where he met, fell in love and on November 17, 1946 married his beautiful soul mate and Italian bride, Anna Maria. Anna grew up in Rome, Italy and was just a young girl when she moved to Venice with her father who worked within the Italian film industry for many years as a Cinematographer. Prior to moving to Venice, German troops occupied Anna's family home in Rome. Anna's father, Gabriele brought Anna to Venice, where the Italian film studio in Rome had relocated because of enemy occupation all over Rome. It was at that time that Anna began working on the same military base in Venice where John was stationed during the war. Anna was just 18 when they met. John was 25. Neither spoke each other's language, but somehow they were able to communicate the universal language of falling in love and knowing they wanted to marry and spend the rest of their lives together. Anna would affectionately call him "Gianni" (Johnny in Italian) and that is what she called him for the next 67 years they were married. Shortly after WWII ended, in 1947, John brought Anna to his home in America to meet his family at his hometown of Venus, Texas. Shortly after that, they settled in Grand Prairie, TX where they became longtime Grand Prairie residents, started their new family and began raising four daughters.

Not long after settling in Grand Prairie in the late 40's, John began working at the Grand Prairie State Bank in 1955 where he retired after 35 years of service. He enjoyed his many years at the bank and throughout the years formed many lifelong friendships all over Grand Prairie and with his close-knit Bank family who he enjoyed many Thursday evening bowling nights with on their Grand Prairie State Bank Bowling League. Until his death John proclaimed Durwood A Sutton, President of Grand Prairie State Bank as the best friend he ever had and thought of him as much more like a brother. John also enjoyed their outings together at the Sutton deer lease, sometimes with the Sutton children and grandchildren. One of Durwood's sons, Marshall, also a Grand Prairie banker, would later affectionately refer to him as 'Daddy John', which made him so happy. John and Durwood shared in common the fact that they both married Italian women. John also shared his passion for gardening with Durwood. Together they even once planted a wonderful vegetable garden on Beltline Rd, just west of where Lone Star Park is now located. They also shared a love for travel. Durwood joined him and Anna on a very memorable trip back to Rome where Anna was born, grew up and still had many beloved family members.

After retirement from the bank, John and Anna made numerous trips back to Rome each year to see her family and visit many other beautiful cities and sights all over Italy. They once purchased a condo on the beach, just 30 minutes outside of Rome in Ostia Lido so they could spend longer visits with Anna's family and have their children and families here in the US visit them there also. Along with Sister-in-law, Marcella, John and Anna spent several years updating the condo and making it their own. Some of John's close friends and co-workers from the Bank would come to visit and stay with them at their home at the beach.

Early on in life, John enjoyed taking annual family vacation trips to Galveston with Anna and his 4 young daughters who they dearly loved. It was a family summer tradition for the McElroy family. John's natural gift and green thumb for gardening that he learned so well working on his family farms in his youth continued for many years throughout his life. He would plant and nurture many gardens over the years and grow wonderful crops of fresh vegetables and herbs. Since Anna was such a wonderful cook, she would use the freshest vegetables and ingredients he grew in his garden for many of her wonderful dishes. Over the years, they both enjoyed having all the family over to the house with Anna cooking many of her exquisite Italian dishes she was famous for and from recipes she would bring home from their annual trips to Rome each year. The feeling was mutual; everyone enjoyed being invited to Anna's Italian Kitchen. Their door was always open to anyone wanting to come enjoy her Italian feasts and John and Anna's warm hospitality.

John and Anna loved and adored their children, their spouses, their grandchildren, great-grandchildren and many pets through the years. After Anna's passing on October 23, 2013 and until John's passing, their little dog, Nina was John's beloved and constant companion, his shadow, who followed him everywhere, sticking close by his side. Daily, she would sit next to his chair in the den where he watched his favorite TV Shows and worked his word search puzzles. She had her own chair next to his and would wait for him to throw her favorite yellow ball for her to fetch or know when it was bedtime and go into her kennel next to his bed. Nina brought John such comfort and joy, especially over the past 3 years after losing Anna. Nina's unconditional love and companionship helped John grieve the greatest loss of his life, his precious Anna Maria. Even to the end, at his rehab and care facility, Nina was right there next to him on his bed comforting him, as always.

The last decade of their lives John and Anna moved from Grand Prairie to the country near Canton in Wills Point, Texas with their youngest daughter, Norma and her husband, Patrick who were John and Anna's caregivers.

In later years while living in the country, John still enjoyed watching sports as much as ever, the Dallas Cowboys and especially the Texas Rangers Baseball team; He loved to see the Rangers win and was their #1 fan. He enjoyed telling war stories from his time in Italy during WWII, some quite painful memories that he had not spoken of until recent years, but could recall many detailed events that seemed as clear to him as if it was yesterday. He loved wearing his WWII Veterans ball cap and was very humble when strangers thank him for his service in the Army. In recent years, he enjoyed keeping his mind sharp by working through his word search puzzle books he had yearly subscriptions to. He loved watching his favorite TV shows, The Andy Griffith Show, Judge Judy, Wheel of Fortune, Family Feud, Bonanza and Gunsmoke. He became quite good guessing the answers on Wheel of Fortune.

John loved his family dearly and was very protective of them. He was very social and loved to chat with fellow Military Vets when he visited the VA. He was a hard worker, faithful, dedicated and extremely disciplined, a true gentleman who captured so many hearts everywhere he went and with whomever he met because of his wonderful wit, charm and sense of humor. His funny quips were his trademark. One of his constant quips he would often say to people with a smile was that "none of us are gettin' out of here alive!" He was right. At his skilled nursing facility John would greet all the nurses and caregivers with smiles that came in, waving at them as they passed his room in the hallways and giving them his best one liners on good days and bad days.

John was a soldier, from 'The Greatest Generation', and as Tom Brokaw states in his book, "it is 'The Greatest Generation' any society has ever produced; these men and women fought not for fame and recognition, but because it was the "right thing to do..." John was a hero from that generation through and through, a power house of a man who fought the good fight bravely to the very end. John never complained much about the pain and suffering he endured fighting for so many years to survive lung cancer and for many years struggling with COPD and Brittle Diabetes, which combined was a long and exhausting difficult battle, more than most human beings at his age and younger could have fought for as long as he did. Over the past 2 months, John especially seemed at peace and grateful after his daytime and bedtime prayers were prayed over him by his family who loved him very much.

John is now home, forever at rest and at peace, in Heaven, free from all earthly pain and suffering, in the loving arms of his creator and Lord Jesus Christ and Savior. As a young soldier, John once walked the streets of Venice, hand in hand with his beautiful Anna Maria where they first met and fell in love.They are together now, at last, through all eternity, perhaps still walking down streets hand in hand, but with Jesus on Streets of Gold...

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"We love you Daddy/PawPaw/Gianni, we will look for you in our dreams...." ~Your beloved family

"...And Mizpah; for He said, may the Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another...." ~Genesis 31:49

"...And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." ~Revelation 21:4

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"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

"Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." ~Amen

Romans 8:35-39 - New King James Version (NKJV)

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Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

~I Corinthians 13: 4-8 - New International Version (NIV)

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*Visitation will be Friday, August 19 at 10 AM in the chapel at Bean Massey Burge.

*Service will follow, same day, August 19 at 11:30 AM in the chapel at Bean Massey Burge

*Burial will follow, same day, August 19 at 2:15 PM at Dallas Ft Worth National Cemetery

2000 Mountain Creek Pkwy

Dallas, Texas 75211

In lieu of flowers, you may make a donation in John's name to either disabled veterans, paralyzed veterans, American Cancer Society , SPCA or the humane society.