Tigers Present Family with #31 "Elrod" jersey

On November 12, 2009, Stephen's family was presented with a framed #31 jersey on the evening of the first home game of the 2009 season. It was a fitting evening for the presentation; Coach Osborne coached and won his 400th game the same evening. The following is the script that was read during the tribute to Stephen.

"Stephen Dale Elrod, a four-year member of the Tiger Men’s Basketball Team and 2007 graduate of Georgetown College, was killed in a tragic vehicle accident in July. Since then he has been remembered in many ways throughout our campus community. Tonight, we honor his memory by giving his parents, Rick and Judy Elrod, and brother, Jon, a framed jersey of his number, No. 31. The Tiger team also honors Stephen each game, wearing “Rod” on the front of each of their jerseys and rubbing a No. 31 jersey in their locker room before heading to the court...

A permanent honor on our campus is planned to be unveiled next year when the area between the George H.W. Bush Fitness Center and Alumni Gymnasium will be named the Stephen D. Elrod Plaza. A sculpture depicting his characteristics and personality will be erected with benches surrounding as a touching tribute to his life.

Stephen was one of the finest kids I have ever been associated with. He was smart, kind, polite, and funny! It looked like he was always having a good day. He lit up the room when he walked in, remembers professor, Jack Birdwhistell.

Coach Happy Osborne has been close to this family since he was an assistant under then Coach Reid and says that as a family, he doesn’t know how you can be any more Georgetown than the Elrods. Happy says that while Rick and Judy been very successful in their time at Georgetown and in life, the most success for them has been as parents because there are no two finer young men than Stephen and Jon Elrod.

Coach Osborne considers Stephen Elrod as the perfect example of a student-athlete. His smile lit up our campus and every gym he visited. Most of all, Stephen lived the example of Christ in that he gave everything for everyone else. Most of all, he was an example to all of us because he saw the good in every one.

Dr. Zahi Haddad, professor of business administration remembers Stephen in the classroom and says, “Stephen Elrod was beloved by all his friends and faculty members. He gained my at most admiration and respect as a student and an athlete. He was a true scholar who had high expectation of himself and expected others to do as well. He had a great personality that gained him the friendship and respect of all who knew him. He developed an excellent understanding of life complexities which made him a person of good judgment. I frequently relied on his judgment on the investment team. He always researched hidden corporate treasures and shared their values with his team. His judgment had always proved to be profitable to the team. He was a great leader. I will always miss him and have a warm spot for Stephen in my heart.

Mark Surgalski, who was a four-year teammate and roommate of Stephen says that Stephen is in the top three most influential people in his life – “He made me a better friend to my friends, made me a better person in this world and the thing I thank him most for is that he made me a better husband to my wife.”

Stephen Elrod was a professor’s dream student says Nancy Lumpkin, another one of Stephen’s favorite teachers. Professor Lumpkin notes that he never shied away from the tough courses, was game for any new challenges, and was always so pleasant to be around. I very much valued the attitude and spirit this fine young man brought to my classes and to the Georgetown College Investment Team. Stephen was a business major with an emphasis in management…but he kept showing up in my finance courses…this was a little unusual for me to see because normally, if a student gets through Lumpkin’s Managerial class, he does not usually look back again…but Stephen did. Elrod—cause that is what we all called him—appeared in my Investments class…the first day I asked him if he was in the correct room. The other students teased him a bit because he had apparently chosen a Lumpkin class of his own free will! I will never forget it…Steven smiled, pulled his baseball cap a little lower, down over his reddened face, and replied, “yes Ma’am, I really want to learn about investments.”

That statement on day one changed the entire demeanor of the class for the semester. Stephen’s leadership in the classroom—his willingness to express interest and excitement over academic content—helped open everyone to that learning opportunity. We had such a fun semester together and I will never forget it.

Stephen’s jersey will forever hang in the Georgetown locker room and his contributions to Georgetown Basketball and our campus will never be forgotten. Fitting tributes for a special young man…Stephen D. Elrod.

And now our Tiger captains, team and staff proudly present the framed jersey to Rick, Judy and Jon."

There Must be Death in Order to Continue Life

Not many young adults think about dying, much less about donating their organs. Stephen was a unique individual. One day he made a special trip on his lunch hour into the Circuit Clerk's office to add his name to the donor list. He was told that he was young and had a long time before he needed to think about that. His response back was that he had a personal relationship with Jesus and if anything ever happened to him, he didn't want there to be any question as to his wishes. He had already renewed his license previously; therefore, his name was added to the donor list but the back of his license remained unchecked.

Stephen usually placed his wallet in the center console of his vehicle. He was uncomfortable driving with it in his back pocket. After the accident, had it been in his pocket, the doctors would have assumed he was not an organ donor since his license was unchecked. However, since we didn't have access to the license, they called the state department, researched the donor list and found his name.

Because of Stephen's decision to help others at his death, the following individuals had an opportunity to continue their life.

Stephen's liver recipient is a 60 year old man from Ohio. He suffered from a chronic progressive disease which caused acute liver failure. He was second on the waiting list and was extremely ill at the time of his transplant. Stephen saved his life. When he is feeling well enough, he works at Goodyear Tire. He is the married father of two children. In his free time, he especially enjoys outdoor activities. He is currently doing well and is working on regaining his full strength from home.

Stephen's left kidney went to a 17 year old girl from Ohio. She had a genetic disorder of unknown origin that slowly caused her kidneys to shut down. She had been receiving frequent dialysis treatments for two years before her transplant. Her family consists of eight siblings and she is very fond of puppets, Sponge Bob and watching TV. After her surgery, she experienced no complications and she is currently doing excellent.

The recipient of Stephen's right kidney is a 17 year old boy from Kentucky. He had the same genetic condition as the girl who received his left kidney. Stephen relieved this young man of over four year of dialysis treatments. He had waited for this gift for one and a half years. He has two siblings and his favorite thing to do is participate on his school's wrestling team.

The heart valves should be transplanted once tests are completed, matches are established, and the recipients are ready.

Due to injuries sustained in the accident, Stephen was unable to donate his pancreas and his skin.

A Lifetime of Memories

Stephen's Memory Garden

We received over 100 floral arrangements and items suitable for a garden. We decided to take some of the shrubs and flowers and arrange them into a memory garden right off the back porch. Smith and Jolly came out the next day, planted everything for us and placed the angels, stepping stones, and benches to make a beautiful garden site. Stephen had given me a crepe myrtle for my birthday a couple years ago. They transplanted it into the garden also. There is always a gentle breeze here on the ridge and when the wind chimes sound, I imagine Stephen telling us that he is in a beautiful place enjoying the breeze and sounds of nature.

A couple days after the funeral, I began going through the flowers and cleaning off the back porch. I found a turkey feather along the back wall nestled around the flowers. We had never found a single turkey feather near the house. Stephen had his first turkey kill earlier in the spring while hunting on the farm with a good friend, Clay Hamblen. I believe Stephen placed that turkey feather for me to find that morning. It was his way of telling us that he was hunting all the time now and had just gotten him a big one.

Visitation - Plum Creek Christian Church

Visitation services were held at Plum Creek Christian Church in Butler, Ky from 3:00 - 9:00 p.m. on Friday, July 24th.

The funeral director and long time good friend, Mr. John Peoples, recommended closing the casket. After the family had the opportunity to view Stephen, we agreed that it would be best. Some of items brought for display at the church to help show people who Stephen really was were his basketball jerseys from Pendleton County and Georgetown College. The basketball shoes he received as a senior at Georgetown sat nicely beside his Georgetown #31 jersey. They had been worn out from playing in 2 - 3 leagues weekly since graduation. Specific awards were brought to display the hard-working nature of Stephen. He received the Larry Price Hustle Award at Pendleton (the same honor that he shared with his father in 1978 and his brother, Jon, in 2005 and 2006), and the Jim Reid Award at Georgetown. Other plaques included Academic All-Conference, Highest GPA average in Chemistry and Trigonometry.

Some of the most special items displayed were poems and letters written to us when he was small.

Roses are red, violets are blue
You are sweet and I love you,
Would you like a cup of tea,
It's really good for me, and
I just made it for the best Mommy.
~Mothers Day 1995

Roses are red
Violets are Blue
You are sweet
and I love you.

Dear Mommy and Daddy,
I love you so much. I could
take you out to dinner, but
I don't have a car.
Love, Stephen

Dear Mommy,
Thank you for every thing you've done for us.
Thank you for food. Thank you for taking me
down the hill. Thank you for buying me a home. Mommy,
you are a very good cooker. Thank you for
helping me with my homework. Thank you
for loving me too. I love you too.
thank you for toys.
Happy Mother's Day Mommy.
I Love you Mom.
~April 20, 1993


AND THE MOST SPECIAL OF ALL

(Stephen wrote this and folded it like a paper airplane and threw it down the steps one night to us)
Dear Mom or Dad,
I want to accept Jesus as my personal
Lord and Savior, but I'm scared to do it
in Church.
P.S. Can you please help me!!
Love, Stephen Elrod

Basketball was more than just a sport for Stephen. It was a way of life, a passion, and an activity that opened doors for numerous opportunities and relationships. Stephen was lucky enough to become an assistant coach of the 2nd and 3rd grade basketball players, the Future Hoopsters. Shown in the picture given to us after his death, Stephen had the opportunity to shape not only the basketball skills of young children but also the minds of the young children. Implementing the coaching skills he acquired from his father and the teaching skills he acquired from his mother, Stephen was a perfect fit for the job. Indicative of Stephen's impact on these young basketball stars, Cody Sullivan wanted nothing more than to donate this winning trophy back to Stephen. At the visitation, Eli Field gave us his trophy also. The response from his team is a true testament to Stephen's character, a character that embraced and utilized not only his God-given talents but also his passion for kids--helping, teaching, and empowering others even before his own endeavors. It's plain to see that Stephen, no matter how small a responsibility it seemed to be, impacted these kids and fellow coaches more than imaginable. Although it will be from above, Stephen will continue to coach and teach the Future Hoopsters with the same engaging and inspiring demeanor he once showed on the sidelines.

~ Jon Elrod

Stephen inherited his artistic ability from his father. Below are copies of some his paintings. The mask is a form of his face from an art class he had at ELCA.

Stephen would have been amazed, shocked, and so touched at the amount of people that came to the visitation and funeral. The number of flowers, momentos, and memorials were astonishing. We have been truly blessed by our friends' love and support.

The funeral service was held on Saturday, July 25th, 2:00 p.m. at Plum Creek Christian Church. Rodney Raymond, current pastor of the church read a scripture and former pastor, Larry Travis, performed the service. He spoke of Stephen and how they had golfed together just the week prior to his death. He said Stephen had hit a home run the previous night at the softball game. He spoke of the numerous friends he had on Facebook and read some of their postings. As a final note, Larry told us that if Stephen would have a choice to come back to us right now, he would probably say, "No, I'm fine just where I'm at. I'll miss you, but I'll see you again."

An old friend of Stephen's, Kasey Jo Bishop Trbovich sang "I Will Remember You" by Sarah McLachlan, and Jeff Daniels, a gentleman from the church, sang a version of Casting Crowns, "Who Am I". Judy Graziani, the wife of a softball teammate, played the piano music for the service.

Stephen was laid to rest at Lenoxburg Cemetery beside his brother, Nicholas Wade.

Pendleton man dies from accident on AA Highway

Source: The Falmouth Outlook
By Debbie Dennie, Editor

A twenty-four year old Pendleton County man died from injuries he received in a three-vehicle accident near Ivor Road on the AA Highway in Campbell County at approximately 7:05 a.m. Tuesday, July 21.

Stephen D. Elrod of Foster was taken by ambulance to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center where he died later that evening. The heavy fog prevented AirCare from flying to the scene. He was on his way to work at Griffin Industries in Cold Spring when the accident occurred.

A tractor trailor was pulling onto the AA Highway from Ivor Road, heading southbound, when two pickup trucks heading northbound struck the trailer, becoming wedged beneath the trailer. The dense fog, which was blamed for the accident, made it impossible for the two pickup drivers to see the truck or its trailer until it was too late. Elrod was operating an S-10 truck from which he had to be extracted. The identity of the other pickup truck and tractor trailer drivers are not known. Neither of them were injured. Campbell County police worked the accident.
Police had the highway shut down until 10:30 a.m. that morning. Pendleton County Sheriff Craig Peoples, Chief Deputy Paul Vater and Deputy Todd Dennie responded to the AA to assist the Campbell County police by providing traffic control.
Elrod was a 2003 graduate of Pendleton County High School, with valedictorian honors, a graduate of Georgetown College with a business and finance degree and cum laude honors. He was pursuing his masters at Northern Kentucky University, where he was only five classes away from completion.

Stephen was the son of Rick and Judy Elrod of Foster and like his father excelled at basketball playing all four years of high school and went on to play in the jv and varsity basketball program at Georgetown College. He also loved to hunt deer and turkey and enjoyed helping his grandfather cut wood.

"He was an awesome guy with a huge heart," commented his aunt Phyllis Kelsch. "Stephen loved life and his family."

During his funeral at Plum Creek Christian, where he was a member, saturday, July 25, his pastor Bro. Rodney Raymond told those in attendance that he was amazed at the many wonderful comments about Stephen posted by his friends on Facebook. "There wasn't a dry eye in the house as his pastor read those comments," said his aunt.
She went on to say that he always had time to talk all the way from an early age until now and enjoyed talking to older people. He loved to play softball and especially church league. Stephen gave of his time to coach a second and third grade team in basketball, which he really enjoyed. He always had a smile on his face.
"Stephen was over to our house a lot. "He was like another son to us," offered Kelsch. "He was not only a scholar, he was the type of young man that you would want your daughter to marry."

Amanda Bruin, a friend and fellow classmate at Georgetown College added, "Stephen had a really big heart. He was a wonderful person whether it be at school, home or with his friends having fun. He was loved by everybody."

Amanda is going to Honduras to teach and Stephen volunteered to put on a 3 on 3 basketball tournament for her to help her raise money to go. "He was just that kind of guy," she said with a quiver in her voice.

"God must have had a special purpose for Stephen," said his dear grandmother Beulah Elrod.

Because Stephen was an organ donor a part of him will enable someone else to go on living. That's just the kind of young man Stephen was.

Big-hearted kid mourned

By Brenna R. Kelly
bkelly@nky.com
FOSTER – Stephen Elrod was a high school basketball star, class valedictorian, college basketball player, scholar and to all who knew him, a friend.

"Stephen had one of the purest hearts of anybody I know," said Happy Osborne, basketball coach at Georgetown College, where Elrod played from 2003 to 2007. "He was so positive; he saw the good in everybody."

Today friends and family will say goodbye to Elrod, who died Tuesday after his truck struck a tractor-trailer shrouded in heavy fog on the AA Highway in Campbell County. He was 24.
"He was a big-hearted kid," said his father, Rick Elrod. "He was ever-smiling and always had time for someone else."

Stephen Elrod was valedictorian of the Pendleton County High School class of 2003, graduated from Georgetown with a business degree in 2007 and was five classes away from completing his master's in business administration at Northern Kentucky University.

"He's the kind of person that you wish your daughter would marry," Osborne said. "He was going to be successful and he was driven, but yet he always had time for people."

Rick Elrod said his son was a great conversationalist who enjoyed talking to people much older than him. He also loved hunting deer and turkey on the family's Pendleton County farm.
At Pendleton County, Stephen Elrod was a standout on the basketball team. Then, following in his father's footsteps, he went on to play at Georgetown. Rick Elrod, who was the school's highest NBA draft pick, was inducted into the college's athletics hall of fame in 2005.

Stephen Elrod played junior varsity for one year and varsity for three, Osborne said. He was one of three players from Georgetown to be named Mid-South Academic All-Conference Team in 2007.

"Stephen was a hard worker, he was an encourager and he always gave his best in practice and he was always positive with his teammates," Osborne said. "He was a guy that was invaluable to your team with his work ethic and his attitude – and if you leave him open he'll knock it down."
After graduation, Stephen moved home so he could save money, his father said.

On Tuesday morning Stephen was on his way to work at Griffin Industries in Cold Spring where he was in the management training program. His father also works at the company and was already at work when the accident occurred.

Stephen Elrod's truck struck the trailer of a semi that had pulled onto the AA from Ivor Road about 7 a.m., said Campbell County Lt. Col. Todd Straman. "There was absolutely no visibility," he said. "The AA, the way it follows that valley, there is horrible fog sometimes."

The pickup truck was wedged under the semi. Moments after Elrod's truck hit the semi, another pickup also hit the truck. The driver of the other truck was not injured. The driver of the tractor-trailer, Donald Graessley, of Westfield, Wis., was not injured. The accident is still under investigation and no charges have been filed, Straman said.

"The AA is such a dangerous highway," Rick Elrod said. "This particular location has been the site of many accidents." Rick Elrod had driven the same route that morning. "This truck should have waited," he said. "The truck certainly couldn't see, he just took too big of a chance and my son was in the wrong place and wrong split second of time."

When Stephen Elrod died Tuesday, more than 100 family and friends had gathered at University Hospital. Stephen Elrod was an organ donor and his organs went to several people, his father said. Stephen Elrod is also survived by his mother, Judy, and brother Jon, 21, who also plays basketball at Georgetown, where he will be a senior. In 1987, Stephen Elrod's younger brother Nicholas died just days after birth. "When Nicholas died, we could come home and hug Stephen, and now that Stephen's gone we can come home and hug Jon," Rick Elrod said. "I think God's done with us right now. His plan's in place and there ain't no more to hug."

A service will be held at 2 p.m. today at Plum Creek Christian Church in Butler.

The Day That Stood Still - July 21, 2009

CAMPBELL CO., Ky. -- The AA Highway in Northern Kentucky is back open after an early morning crash seriously injured one person.

According to Campbell County officials, a semi truck and two other vehicles were involved in a crash on the highway around 7:05 a.m. Tuesday.



The two vehicles reportedly couldn't see the semi turning left due to the heavy fog in the area at the time. Both vehicles crashed into the side of the truck and became wedged underneath.

Officials say one of the drivers was taken by ambulance to University Hospital with life-threatening injuries. A medical helicopter was not able to fly to the scene because of the fog. The victim's name and condition have not been released.

The AA Highway was closed in both directions at Ivor Road because the semi was blocking four lanes.

Crews had to use a crane to try to lift the semi in order to remove the cars from the wreckage.

Officials say alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the accident.

The accident remains under investigation.