Rod was such a loving guy who’s love for his girls radiated in everything he did. He was such a loving father and man. The memories he’s left for his girls will be things they treasure forever. Rest easy Rod, you will be missed, but enjoy catching up on all the missed time with the love of your life. ❤️❤️
-The Grants

Rodney . My friend and I'm proud to call you my friend . I't was only for  a short time but they were some good times , The cars we had .the street racing they were some good times... and of course there was a little beer in there .
Rest in peace my friend ... till we meet again 
AL Lemon

I had the pleasure of working with Rod for the past ten years at Van Nuys Airport.  I feel blessed to have worked with a VNY legend. Rod made an impression on me early on when I came to understand just who he was as a husband and father. His family was everything to him, and I will cherish all of the conversations we had because his affection for his loved ones was infectious.  He was so happy to be a grandfather (Papa); he radiated a joy that only grandparents seem privy to. Oftentimes, we talked about his beloved dogs and the cat with 9+ lives.  Rod, there is a void without you. My first thought when I heard you were gone was, I am relieved you are with your true love, Anita.  It brings me peace to know you are together again.  

I first met Rod in 2001.  I was a new transfer to the Van Nuys Airport from LAX.  An airport police officer.  I didn’t know anybody at Van Nuys.  I lived in the Antelope Valley and quickly discovered that the airport offered a vanpool for its employees.  I signed up and began riding to work with a colorful group of characters from all different job classifications.  Everything from maintenance, payroll, administration and airport police.  Everyone knows you don’t judge a book by its cover.  Well when I met Rod on the vanpool I thought the cover of that book was a little rough around the edges.  But slowly, after many trips to and from work on that van, I began to get to know Rod.  Once I got past the gruff exterior (and goatee) I discovered a good man and later, a friend.  Rod and I made a connection over our background.  We both served in the United States Air Force.  The similarities didn’t end there.  We both were aircraft mechanics.  Both working on fighter aircraft.  Rod worked on the F-4 Phantom and I on the F-111 Aardvark.  As I patrolled the Van Nuys airport and Rod took care of the maintenance of the airport we would often meet up and talk.  He quickly became a familiar and friendly face that I would not drive by without stopping to say hi.  The airport will not be the same without him.  I miss him.  I miss that leathery covered book.  I miss my friend.

I supervised the Maintenance staff at Van Nuys Airport for about 3 years before retiring and during those 3 years Rod was my go to guy for maintenance issues that I couldn’t solve myself. He was always more than willing to fill in when I wasn’t available.  I remember the midnight calls I would get about fire alarms going off at the Airport and calling Rod at awful early morning hours or weekends to see if he would take care of the problem. He was always more than willing to go in and he never hesitated, never complained. We would joke about how the alarms would never go off during the day, just at midnight of course. I was always asking him questions about different maintenance issues. At times I felt like I was badgering him. But no, you see Rod was a very gracious individual. Calm, easy to get along with and easy to talk to and always willing to help me or his coworkers. He had my respect and the respect of his coworkers. I know he loved his daughters very much and I think they’re lucky to have had such a caring man for their father. 

I don’t know where to begin because I have over 23 years of wonderful memories. My fondest are always the ones where I can look across the street and see Rod outside the house. I would be gardening and he would be working in the yard. I always took the time to go over and talk because he had such interesting  things to talk about. I loved our conversations together and we could talk about life and the girls for hours. His whole life were the girls and how proud he was of them. He was truly so caring and loving. Absolutely the best father with so much love. He always had a positive attitude and knew just what to say. We celebrated holidays, birthdays and I just loved the 4th of July fun. He was not only an incredible father to his girls but equally the same to my kids but especially Masen. We all have a special spot in our hearts and he will live on in us forever. I miss his smiling face and encouraging words of wisdom. Thank you Rod for being a part of our lives. thank you for all the wonderful memories and love you shared. 

There is very little that I know about Rodney McElhone.  He has been my neighbor for 27 years.  Over the years he has helped my family fix plumbing issues from time to time.  I know he was a man of strong faith, and he was a big Dodgers fan.  But the thing I will remember most about him, was how dedicated he was as a father to his two girls.

His wife died when his girls were young.  And for the rest of his life he stepped into the role of mother and father.  He lived to provide for his two girls.  It takes a lot of strength to fill the role of both parents.  As strong as he was, he was also gentle enough to support his daughters through any crisis they faced. 

Thank you for being such a good neighbor, friend, role model, and father to those girls. You are missed. 

Rodney, my friend, thank you for always welcoming me into your home regardless of what was going on in our lives. I will always appreciate how you would share a message of positivity to the clerks in the grocery store, "Smile! It's not so bad!" You played a pivotal role in my growing up. I appreciate every time you let me stay over to spend time with your daughters. Thank you for letting me play in your front yard and feeding me while I was over. You are still my favorite grill master! I won't forget going to the girls' soccer games or the Dodger games with you! I spent a lot of time in your home, and I appreciate how you always made me feel welcome. I admire how much you did for your family! You did a great job, Rod! I'm so sorry that you left us so soon. I'll miss you, neighbor! 💙

 I have worked with Rod for over three years here at the Van Nuys Airport.   And although I was  consider his immediate supervisor that was never the relationship that me and Rod had,  not only was he my second in command here but we were also good friends.  We would sit every day and talk about our daughters and our granddaughters he was never so more proud of his daughters  you can just feel the joy whenever he talked about them .  And I used to tell him how much I respected and admire him for stepping up and raising his daughters by himself not many dads do that.  I remember when I first came to the airport and me and Rod were in the office talking and I was telling them about all my ambitions for some changes I was going to do here at the airport,   And Rod just gave me that smirky smile that he had and said OK will see and come to find out he was never so right.  The other connection that me and Rod had was we both are veterans and we would sit around and talk about our time in the service I truly enjoyed my fellowship with Him.   Rod was a legend here at Van Nuys Airport he knew everybody and anybody and they all had nothing but great things to say about him, I truly miss him and  he was absolutely one of the finest men I’ve ever known in my life. 

We have tons of fond memories with Rodney. He was a fixture in our budding relationship.  He was there when we met he was with us on every camping trip and almost every event. He was there when we found we were going to be parents. He even slept on our couch on the night we got married. He used to change our daughters diapers because her daddy didnt have the stomach for it.   Rodney has been our friend and brother for over 40 years. We always looked forward to getting together at Heinzy and Robins and sharing a few Easters with our families.  So many stories could be told of our rodeo days,  riding shotgun in his garbage truck with his beloved dog R.J. and hanging out at our favorite watering hole. But some things just shouldn't be published.  We  love you and will miss you .  See you soon. 

I will always hold Rodney close to my heart. From bowling with him every Wednesday to him buying micheladas for me at the dodger games he was kind enough to bring me too, Rodney always had the kindest heart around. He welcomed everyone into his home with loving arms and I’ll forever be grateful to have had him impact my life the way he did.  

My favorite memory of my brother in love is how he loved my sister. He changed her whole world. The kind of love that makes you believe  fairy tales do come true.  I was sharing with Selena the other day as how he even went so far as to try and find a job in Indiana so that they could be closer to our family. Ultimately it didn't work out. God had a bigger plan for their family. I will be forever grateful to Rodney for the love he gave to my Nephew (Stevie) , raising him like his own, raising my Niece's by himself and the love he always showed to me.  Dance with my sister and give her a hug from me. All my love.

I have so many memories of your dad. Sunday mornings, car shows, Friday night pizza, birthday parties, Dodger games... he'd always make us special dinners when I stayed over and french toast sticks in the mornings on the weekends! I loved your dad like he was my own and I've always looked up to him. One thing I always remember... the three of us were all swimming in your above ground pool, playing that whirlpool game we used to play. Guess we made too big of a whirlpool because the entire pool overturned and completely flooded the backyard! We were all scared because he was going to come home from work to find us out there, soaked, next to the upturned pool and ruined backyard. We thought he would be so mad. But when he came home, the first words out of his mouth were "Are you guys okay?" And that's what I'll always remember most about your dad, how caring he was. He was a great man. "You are not gone, because you are always in my heart." <3 

I always remember your dad being at our soccer practices in junior high - no matter who was out there practicing what, he would cheer for everyone. It didn't matter how much he knew someone, whether it was his daughter out there or not, he cheered for them and supported them. Your dad radiated love and support for everyone. His legacy of sharing his love and support for all has clearly been passed on to you girls. 

AVIS DE DÉCÈS

Rodney Charles McElhone

19 octobre 1953 – 21 novembre 2018

Eternal Valley Memorial Park & Mortuary

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