- Date Of Birth: July 28, 1949
- Date Of Death: January 31, 2017
- State: Georgia
Elrod, Gerald Lee, Sr. (Bruce) July 28, 1949 – January 31, 2017 Gerald Lee Elrod, Sr. (Bruce), 67, of Moreland, surrounded by family at his bedside, died at Piedmont Hospital of Newnan due to complications from lung disease. Bruce was the fourth of five siblings; three brothers, Clyde, Danny and Rex; and one sister, Tricia. Everyone in Moreland knew the Elrods who lived on what is locally known as the square in Moreland, Georgia. Bruce was the baby of the family until his youngest brother, Rex, came along when Bruce was twelve. Being the youngest for those twelve years meant he took the brunt of the punishment from his older brothers, which forced him to fight back ten-fold. It was this fighting spirit that helped Bruce navigate some of the toughest health problems he experienced during his adult life. In 1967 when Bruce turned eighteen, he went to the recruiter with a friend from Moreland to join the fight against the spread of communism in Vietnam by enlisting in the Marines. It was during this visit that he discovered he had a heart murmur and was labeled 4-F by the recruiter. This bad news turned out to be fortuitous because it allowed him to meet Ann Carter at a local dance in the old Newnan roller skating rink. Bruce and Ann started to see each other regularly and in February 1968 were married in Ann’s parents’ living room. In September of that same year, Bruce and Ann had their first child, Lee; three years later, another child, Joe, was born. Bruce and Ann worked hard to make ends meet. Bruce worked at the William L. Bonnell Company in Newnan, and Ann worked several different jobs to help augment their income. Although Bruce had a heart murmur, it never slowed him down. Bruce was an excellent athlete playing in a volleyball league at the YMCA and church league softball for Moreland Methodist Church and Moreland Baptist for more than ten years. He was an avid outdoorsman and spent his life fishing and hunting when he wasn’t hitting a little white ball across the links. Bruce grew to love golf so much that in 1976 he quit his job at Bon-L to work as the pro golfer at Beaver Lake Golf Course in Gay, Georgia. Both his sons remember picking up golf balls on the driving range the entire summer of 1976. Bruce discovered the life of a golf pro at Beaver Lake wasn’t all glamour and glitz like he imagined and decided to go back to work at Bon-L. He poured everything into his work and in 1978 was offered a foreman position in Carthage, Tennessee. After a year in Carthage, Bruce promoted again to General Foreman, this time back in Newnan. After a few years, Bruce promoted to Superintendant of the Casting Department and then on to Production Manager, managing six different departments. He finished his 45 years at Bon-L in the Sales Department as the Applications Manager. During his 45 years at Bon-L, Bruce was able to travel to Europe and Canada and other parts of the U.S. assisting other aluminum extrusion companies and customers in the Tredegar Industries Group. While on a hunting trip in 1981 at the age of 30, Bruce’s heart murmur became more than a murmur when he nearly blacked out climbing a hill. He went to his doctor and discovered he needed his main aorta valve replaced. Bruce underwent his first heart surgery and recovered quickly, hitting golf balls again within a few weeks. Eight years later, he discovered his valve needed replacing again. A mechanical valve was put in and he quickly recovered from this surgery. Bruce never let his health issues slow him down. He and Ann would go whitewater rafting and canoeing with friends, hang-glide, and in their 50s motorcycling all over Georgia. For several years, Bruce played in the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association Men’s Doubles BB division with his son, Joe. He loved to fish and took several fishing trips to Florida and bought a boat so he could fish at West Point Lake whenever he wanted. Always the competitor, he entered in several fishing tournaments through the years trying to take home the big prize. Hoping to spend more time together at home and with their family, Bruce and Ann retired within months of each other in 2014. In early 2016, Ann passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack, devastating Bruce and his boys. In December 2016, Bruce discovered that his lungs were not healthy resulting from repeated bouts of inflammation the cause of which is unknown. They are both now joined with the Lord; Ann decorating her table and Bruce coming home to tell her about his golf game. Bruce is survived by his two sons, Lee Elrod and Joe Elrod of Newnan, Georgia; daughters-in-law, Janet Elrod and Kim Elrod; grandchildren, Scarlett Elrod and James Elrod; Sam Elrod and Zoe Elrod; his brothers Danny Elrod and Rex Elrod; his sister Patricia Elrod; his sister-in-law, Paula Elrod, his nieces, Tiffany Elrod and Ginger Avenali; and Danielle Elrod.
