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.