Elizabeth Louella Elrod

Born Elizabeth Louella Elrod on April 23, 1935, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, she was the daughter of the late John C. and Pauline Kohn Elrod. She is survived by her brother, John Edward Elrod of Los Altos, CA; her sister, Foye Elrod Wallace, of Gainesville, GA; her nieces, Lisa Elrod, of Bend, OR, and Helyn Elizabeth Wallace, of New Smyrna Beach, FL; an aunt, Jo Littlejohn, of Simpsonville, SC; and many cousins.

Lu grew up in Marietta, Georgia, and graduated from Marietta High School in 1953, with a remarkable record of perfect attendance from the 1st through 12th grades. She excelled in all sorts of athletics, especially swimming. Over the course of her lifetime, she taught several hundreds of children how to swim. Awarded multiple vocal scholarships, she would earn a Bachelor's degree in Music from Georgia State University in 1960. During this time, she was presented Leadership Development and Leadership Fellows awards from The Ford Foundation. In 1970, she earned a Master of Music Education degree and in 1971, a Doctorate in Education, both from the University of Georgia. She would find her passion in teaching music teachers how to teach music.

To begin her nearly 50-year teaching career, Dr. Elrod first led chorus and band at Southwest DeKalb High School in Decatur, Georgia. In 1972, she accepted a faculty position in the Music Department at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and concurrently served as Music Director in several churches in the area. She would, in fact, serve as Music Director in various churches throughout her life, in Georgia, North Carolina, and California. In 1978, she moved to California to teach Music and Music Education at California State University, Los Angeles. During her tenure, Dr. Lu taught credential courses in music education; led graduate seminars in psychology of music and advanced music education; authored countless professional articles; and created instructional video programming in music education, notably on using music to build a positive self-concept. After a full and robust career, Dr. Elrod was named Professor Emerita of Music Education at Cal State LA in 2003. Even after retirement, she continued to teach, coach, and actively work in fundraising for music scholarship, particularly for the Friends of Music, an organization that seeks to enhance educational opportunities for students in the Department of Music at Cal State LA. During the course of her career, Dr. Elrod won every teaching award imaginable, time and time again, including national awards for expertise in music and education, as well as recognition for her philanthropic work.

A versatile character actress, stand-up comedienne, and classically-trained singer, Lu had an outsized talent and personality that simply stole the show wherever she went. With a vocal range from baritone to soprano--a truly enviable gift--she performed with the Dallas Opera and was a Metropolitan Opera Regional Auditions finalist. Always inspiring and always entertaining, she frequently played local clubs, events and venues. However, the work that Lu perhaps relished the most was acting, both on the big and small screens. Over five decades, Lu appeared in a variety of feature films including Wag the Dog, The Big Lebowski, Primary Colors, Beautiful, Freaky Friday, and Kicking and Screaming, to name just a few, as well as television and commercial credits, too many to list. She was a member the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), American Federation of Radio and Television Artists (AFTRA), and the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA), among others. She loved to be recognized from her roles in the movies and to tell stories about working in Hollywood.

Lu enjoyed life and love, considering herself to be a “Lucky Lady,” especially so at the racetrack. She was exceedingly generous and fiercely loyal to her family--most devoted of all to her mother, whom she adored. Lu liked animals, and over her lifetime loved a few very special cats and pugs. A lifelong patron of the arts, she also appreciated collecting antiques, objets d’art, and interesting, beautiful things of all sorts. Yet, the collection she treasured the most was her enormous group of friends accumulated throughout the years, of whose worth cannot be measured.

Lu will be missed tremendously and fondly remembered by her family, thousands of former students, and a multitude of friends, not only for her highly accomplished career and extraordinary talents, but also for her easy laugh, dramatic flair, razor wit, saucy sense of humor, and her huge heart. Her family will always be most grateful for Lu’s compassionate and devoted caregivers, the Lopez family, for faithfully attending to her and loving her as one of their own.

Memorials may be made to the Lu Elrod Voice Scholarship Fund at Cal State LA; Attention: Friends of Music; California State University, Los Angeles; 5151 State University Drive; Los Angeles, CA; 90099-2797, or to a philanthropy of the donor's choice.

Due to the pandemic, no celebration of life service is planned; however, small groups of friends and family may choose to gather to celebrate in a manner befitting their memories of Lu.