GARRON LEE ‘POPEYE’ ELDERS (COMMANDER US NAV, RETIRED)GARRON LEE 'POPEYE' ELDERS (COMMANDER US NAV, RETIRED)
Garron Lee 'Popeye' Elders, 66, passed away on September 1, 2012 in Port Washington, NY of natural causes. He was born in Altadena, CA and spent 22 years in the US Navy. During his tour of the Philippines, he met and married his wife Dina in 1967. After leaving the service, he enrolled at San Jose State University where he graduated in 1975 and was later commissioned as an officer in 1976. He was a ship driver and later transferred to Naval Intelligence in 1981 upon graduation from the Naval Postgraduate School where he obtained a master degree in National Security. A true "Pacific Fleet Sailor", ashore tours have included San Diego, San Francisco, Sangley Point, Philippines, Pearl Harbor and finally, as a commander, the Officer-in-Charge of a task group in Yokosuka, Japan. After his retirement from the US Navy in 1993, he worked for several corporations in the Philippines, Hong Kong and Japan until his final retirement in 2008. A long time Honolulu resident, Garron was active in the community where he was a board member and then president of the Kuapa Isle AOAO. Besides traveling, he volunteered at Hanauma Bay and loved snorkeling, kayaking, surfing, and enjoying the beauty of Hawaii and the ocean. Garron was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2001 and spent the past three years committed to holistic and integrative medicine and educating others through his blog www.sojournintohealing.com. He especially loved spending time with his grandchildren (who named him Popeye) and could be found changing diapers, giving baths, taking walks, heading to the beach, and feeding them (he called himself Handi Nanny). He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Dina; son and daughter-in-law, Chris and Jacqueline Elders; daughter and son-in-law Tanya and Chris Warburton; grandchildren Hudson & Jackson Garron Elders and Kainoa & Kalani Warburton; siblings Claudia Lunt and Kerry Elders and brother in law John Lunt. Garron's memorial service was held on October 12th, 2012 at the Punchbowl National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased