Carl A. McElroy

Carl Alan McElroy was born on November 26th, 1955 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and joined our heavenly Father suddenly on July 12, 2020. Carl is survived by wife Linda M. Parson, father Alan G. McElroy, mother Mary A. (Johns) McElroy; sister Susan (McElroy) Smith, stepchildren Aubrey (Mike) Robinson, Natalie (Travis) Hunter, and Nolan (Karen Meredor) Parson; grandchildren Peyton, Kaylen, Clayton, and Jayden Robinson, Brooks Hunter, and baby girl Parson due October 2020; special life-long friends Paul and Beth Rendel. Carl had many loyal friends, coworkers, and loving extended family members.

Carl was employed as a meteorologist by the United States Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Weather Service. His career with NOAA spanned over 30 years, providing opportunities to live in locations including Camp Springs, Maryland, Brownsville, Texas, Barrigada, Guam, and most recently Miami, Florida.

Carl served as Captain in the United States Air Force from 1986-1998. He had various positions in his military career including Typhoon Duty Officer (Nimitz Hill, Guam), Tactical Support Chief (Hanscom AFB, MA), and served at Offutt Air Force Base (Omaha, NE). He was a member of the American Legion.

Carl’s professional education included a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Ithaca College (1980), Bachelor’s Degree in Meteorology from Penn State University (1991), and Master’s Degree in Meteorology, Tropical Meteorology from Colorado State University (1996). He was a member of the American Meteorological Society. Carl lived a personal mission to save the lives of others by studying the storms of the sea.

Carl developed a passion for bicycling in his early college years, commuting by bike to campus. His riding distances became longer and his hobby as an avid endurance cyclist evolved. In 1999 Carl took a sabbatical to prepare for and complete Paris-Brest-Paris, a very challenging ultramarathon bicycle ride held every four years. He completed the 775 mile ride in August 1999 in 74 hours, 26 minutes. He also participated in the UMCA 24-hour Bicycling Championships in September 1999, completing over 341 miles in 24 hours, placing 19th overall. He took great pride in being a randonneur (long-distance) cyclist.

Carl enjoyed studying different languages and was fluent in English and Spanish, and spoke intermittent French, Chamorro, and Arabic. He was always delighted to provide a television station native language weather forecast in Spanish while living in Texas or ham radio forecast in Chamorro while living on Guam.

Carl completed a lifelong dream of travelling to The Holy Land and Jerusalem with wife Linda in November 2011. Highlights included The Sea of Galilee, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, The West Wall, Dead Sea, and having conversations in Arabic and Hebrew with the locals.

Carl’s final resting place will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The American Legion. Today, take a few minutes to sit quietly and be thankful for all that you have. Enjoy a ride on your bike in memory of Carl.