Ronald J. Eltzroth

Ronald J. Eltzroth, 87, of Pendleton, Indiana, passed away on Friday, July 21st at his daughter’s residence in Fishers following a brief illness. He was born on July 28, 1935 to Henry and Katharine (Riley) Eltzroth in Logansport, Indiana. He was the youngest of 7 children and grew up in a close-knit family. From 1940 on, Henry raised his children in Wabash, Indiana.

After graduating from Wabash High School in 1954, where he and his brothers all played football, he went on to earn his bachelors and masters degrees at Ball State Teachers College. While attending school, Ron worked as an orderly at Ball Memorial Hospital where he met Nurse Mary (Holbrook), the love of his life. They wed in 1960 and welcomed daughters Linda in 1961 and Lisa in 1962, and son John in 1964.

Ron taught History and English, and was a guidance counselor in public school for 34 years, retiring in 1993 from Anderson Community Schools. He was a proud member of the First United Methodist Church, the Pendleton Garden Club, and past president of Pendleton Kiwanis, assisting at the June Jamboree in Pendleton for years.

Ron’s garden was his sanctuary – a place where he would say he felt close to his dad. Over the years, part of his backyard would transform into vegetable and flower gardens, bringing his family and him much joy. Ron often said that he was happiest “outside, digging in the dirt.” Although he was not a hunter, when it came to morel mushrooms, Ron was all about the journey, discovery, and edible enjoyment of the morel. It brought back a fond childhood memory for him.

Ron helped things to grow: plants and flowers in his garden, trees and plants in his yard, students in his career, and all of us whose lives he touched along the way. His kind, caring soul and giving nature often cast him as a caretaker of one form or another.

His other passions in life were Traveling, American history, and classic Hollywood movies. He once said that he thought he’d seen every old Hollywood movie ever made. His love of travel began in childhood with his oldest brother Riley taking him on trips to locations including New York City, Washington, D.C., Mount Rushmore, Oregon, Eureka California, Pocatello Idaho, and many more. On family trips as a young father, much to the chagrin of his daughters, he would often insist on stopping to investigate the various historical markers he noticed along the way. He and Mary took their son, John on many trips to Florida and Texas. In the last few years he traveled with his daughter, Lisa and son in law, Walt to New Hampshire and Florida. On a recent trip to Florida with Lisa and Walt, he visited Venice, Sarasota, and his granddaughter Katherine. He loved his granddaughter and was very proud of her. Ron also loved traveling around Indiana to state parks. He enjoyed football and baseball games and going to car shows and museums.

He is preceded in death by his wife Mary (Holbrook) Eltzroth, son John Eltzroth, sisters Ida “Nadine” Clark and Julia Mae Eltzroth, brothers William “Riley” Eltzroth, Arthur Eltzroth, and Calvin “Kelly” Eltzroth, and half-brother Carl Eltzroth. He is survived by his sister Cynthia “Irene” Sigsbee of Bristol, Indiana, daughters Linda Yeager of Lima, Ohio and Lisa Nordstrom (husband Walt) of Fishers, Indiana, Granddaughter Kate Upton (husband Caleb) of North Port, Florida, and multiple nieces and nephews and their families.

Services will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, July 29, 2023 at Wilson St. Pierre Funeral Service and Crematory, Lahm Chapel, Pendleton with Reverend Don Deena Johnson officiating. Burial will follow in Grove Lawn Cemetery, Pendleton.

Visitation from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday at Lahm Chapel Pendleton.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to First United Methodist Church, Anderson, Indiana.