Obituary of Ralph Lloyd Elrod

Ralph “Mickey” Lloyd Elrod was born an only child in Laporte, Indiana on August 5th, 1935 and passed away in his home in Lakewood, Washington on the evening of April 18, 2010 after a short but intense battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his wife and children and had visited with all his grandchildren that day. A career officer in the United States Air Force, Mickey retired as a Lieutenant Colonel after 22 years of service as a Navigator. During his years of service (1962-1984), Mickey was awarded multiple Air Medals, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals, Unit Citation medals as well as the Distinguished Flying Cross. Mickey met his wife Mary L. “Hether”ington (Johnston) of 51 years while working as a surveyor in Iran. He is survived by his wife, daughter - Marie “Hether”ington Nelson(husband Paul), son - Richard M. Elrod and daughter - R. Selby Sondergaard (husband William), and his 6 grandchildren, Christel D. M. Elrod, Tristyn A. M. Elrod, Ian A. Nelson, Bridget J. Nelson, Alexis A. Sondergaard, and Connor Q. Sondergaard. He is also survived by his stepmother Fern Rainey and his half siblings Robert, Barbara, and Sally. Mickey was a well traveled man, through both his career and personal pleasure. He especially enjoyed visiting far away places. Traveling taught him patience and tolerance. Those who met him found a dependable friend who was a good listener and even-tempered. He was also very self sufficient which was evident and enhanced by his skill with his hands, whether he was repairing just about anything, working with wood, working in his vegetable garden or tying flies for fishing, another hobby of his. In his younger days he enjoyed hunting, shooting and participated in the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. For the past 20 years, he had been a compassionate and generous landlord. An informal memorial gathering will be held at The Church at Lakewood, 7912 Lakewood Drive West, Lakewood WA 98499 on May 1, 2010 at 10:00 AM. Please consider a donation to your favorite charity or the American Cancer Society.