Lonnie Floyd Elrod, Sr.

Lonnie F. Elrod Sr., 73, passed away quietly at home on April 30, 2016 in the presence and arms of his loving family. Though our hearts are heavy and we are deeply saddened with his passing, we are extremely blessed to have been able to call him husband, father, grandfather, brother, friend, and coach.

Born on March 12, 1943 in Putnam County, TN, Lonnie came to Virginia after serving in the U.S. Army from 1964 to 1967. During this time, he spent over a year in Vietnam where he earned a Bronze Star for bravery during ground combat while serving as a helicopter crew chief under General Westmoreland’s command. Being a small town country boy, there was a period of adjustment for him to become acclimated to what essentially was a different culture but as with most things he attempted, he did it well. Lonnie eventually started working as a carpenter and spent the majority of his career working for Hatchett Home Improvement. He began his coaching career in 1978 at Mallory Little League when no coach showed up to his son Lon’s first B-league baseball practice. His last year coaching came in 2007 when he coached his 10-year-old grandson, Kyle, at Northampton Little League. In addition to coaching, Lonnie also served on the board of several youth sporting organizations on the Peninsula and was also a member of the Virginia Little League District 7 Umpire’s Association where he was an anointed ‘Lifetime’ member for his contributions to the organization and to the Peninsula Baseball Umpire’s Association. He reached the pinnacle of his umpiring career in 2008 when he was selected to represent Virginia as an umpire in Little League’s Southeast Region Tournament in Gulfport, Florida as part of the Little League World Series. In total, in the three decades of coaching youth sports in the city of Hampton he volunteered tens of thousands of hours coaching, officiating, administrating, mentoring, and shaping the lives of our city’s youth in baseball, basketball, football, and life.

Left to cherish his memories are his wife of 48 years, Linda Elrod of Hampton, his son Lonnie Elrod Jr. and his wife Shannon of Newport News, his daughter Lisa Pellerito and her boyfriend Matt Bordeaux of Norfolk, his daughter Lori Nichols and her husband Robbie of Newport News, grandchildren Dr. Steve Browning and his wife Nicole, Courtney Wedding, Corina Pellerito, Kyle Elrod, Eden Sadler, Trey Sadler, Gavin Nichols, Brielle Nichols, Adalynn Nichols, and Sara Elrod, great-grandchildren Nathan and Elena Browning, and brother Gene Elrod and his wife Carol.

We would like to give a special thank you to the Riverside Hospice team who cared for Lonnie over the last several months as we could not have asked for more considerate, gentle, and loving caregivers. Likewise, we would also like to acknowledge his grandchildren, Corina, Courtney, and Kyle for all of the help they provided their grandfather in the same time period. Each went above and beyond all of our expectations and we are so proud of them.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests expressions of sympathy be given either as a monetary donation to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation or Northampton Little League, or by volunteering in a youth sporting program of your own choosing. Children are the future and we encourage everyone to pay it forward by donating your time and making a difference in the lives of our community’s children.

A celebration of Lonnie’s life will be held at 1:00 pm on Saturday, May 7, at Parklawn-Wood Funeral Home. The family will receive friends immediately following in the funeral home.

Friends are encouraged to visit www.parklawn-woodfh.com to share memories and words of condolence with the family.

Arrangements are under the care of Parklawn-Wood Funeral Home, 2551 N. Armistead Ave., Hampton, VA 23666.