Richard McElroy
Memorial Fund
Richard Hartness McElroy
Dec. 4, 1951 - Jan. 29, 2026
Richard McElroy was born and raised in the small town of Baldwyn, Mississippi and he carried that southern charm with him all his life. He was raised with a strong work ethic working in his grandfather’s lumberyard and sawmill as a young boy.
Richard excelled at sports in high school as a star on the football, track and baseball teams. He also earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He attended Mississippi State University earning a full scholarship for football. He was a three-year letter winner for the Bulldogs. He received his MBA from MSU in 1974.
After receiving his master’s degree, Richard joined the Peace Corps for two years. Upon his return he settled in Houston and worked for Coastal Gas Marketing and Ferrell Gas. As he liked to say with a bit of Texas drawl, he was an “oy-ul” trader.
In 1986, Richard was in La Costa, California for a golf tournament and mutual friends introduced him to an outgoing designer named Janice Howard. They commuted back and forth between Houston and San Diego and Richard liked to brag that for one year, they never missed a weekend. They quickly fell in love and were married on New Year’s Eve 1988 buying a home in Coronado that same year. Two beautiful daughters followed a few years later. They enjoyed a loving community of close neighborhood friends while residing in their home on Margarita Avenue hosting many parties in their large backyard.
Richard was a very involved father who adored his daughters. He taught them to play golf, ski and coached their softball and soccer team’s. He also served on the Board of Coronado Little League. His love of travel continued for many years after the Peace Corps - Australia, Scotland, Italy, Peru, Spain, Sweden and many more with family and friends. His favorite was his last trip, a safari to Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Richard’s successful career in Houston led him to Sempra Energy in San Diego, where he retired as an LNG Marketing Executive. He loved the energy business often discussing MMBTU’s and the Permism Basin to anyone who would listen, although very few people in San Diego would know what he was talking about!
There was never a person that met Richard that didn’t want to become his friend. His kind, loyal heart, great sense of humor and love of sports always made him fun to be with. Competitive on the golf course, he maintained a single digit handicap for most of his life. Golf was his passion and he played courses all over the world.
Richard is survived by his wife Janice; daughters Kristina and Michelle; brother Thomas (Charlotte) McElroy; sister-in-law Debbi (Hal) Durham; and lovingly remembered by his 10 nieces and nephews across the country. He is proceeded in death by his parents John and Julia McElroy of Tupelo, Mississippi.
True to his selfless nature, Richard donated his brain upon death to the Boston University Medical Center. For the last seven years he has been undergoing neurological testing and clinical studies while enrolled in the NIH (National Institute of Health) “Hope Study” under the direction of Dr. Robert Stern. It was Richard’s sincere desire that recent scientific discoveries will soon help diagnose CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) in the living leading to effective treatment in the early stages of the disease. CTE is linked to Richard’s cause of death after years of repeated blows to the head playing football in high school and college.
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