Baller liquid d Posted January 11, 2013 Baller Share Posted January 11, 2013 Sad news in Central Florida today. John Mcelyea passed away in his sleep yesterday. John was such a super nice guy and fun to talk to..say a prayer for his family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Horton Posted January 11, 2013 Administrators Share Posted January 11, 2013 What? The slalom skier from the late 70s? Goode ★ HO Syndicate ★ KD Skis ★ MasterCraft ★ PerfSki Radar ★ Reflex ★ S Lines ★ Stokes ★ Baller Video Coaching System Become a Supporting Member or make a One-time Donation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller 9400 Posted January 11, 2013 Baller Share Posted January 11, 2013 I believe he held the mens slalom world record at one time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Horton Posted January 11, 2013 Administrators Share Posted January 11, 2013 Skied for Taperflex Goode ★ HO Syndicate ★ KD Skis ★ MasterCraft ★ PerfSki Radar ★ Reflex ★ S Lines ★ Stokes ★ Baller Video Coaching System Become a Supporting Member or make a One-time Donation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Ham_Wallace Posted January 11, 2013 Baller Share Posted January 11, 2013 Ran 38 off in Tampa in 1977 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Horton Posted January 11, 2013 Administrators Share Posted January 11, 2013 If anyone finds an obituary please forward it to me Horton@ballofspray.com Goode ★ HO Syndicate ★ KD Skis ★ MasterCraft ★ PerfSki Radar ★ Reflex ★ S Lines ★ Stokes ★ Baller Video Coaching System Become a Supporting Member or make a One-time Donation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Cam Posted January 11, 2013 Baller Share Posted January 11, 2013 Sad news, John was my lawyer from 91 to 94 and was just a nice big guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller MattP Posted January 11, 2013 Baller Share Posted January 11, 2013 He held the world record in 1980 5@11.25 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller JackQ Posted January 12, 2013 Baller Share Posted January 12, 2013 John was the 1st skier to run 38 in a record tournament. Taperflex had a $10K (I recall) bonus if anyone broke the world record with their ski, he did but they never paid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Skihack Posted January 12, 2013 Baller Share Posted January 12, 2013 Shocked to hear this. Last time I saw him was in the 80's. Skied against him at West Palm Beach. Remember it well since he had switched to a 68" Pro Stock from EP. Dave Curmi had set him up with a special flex/tail, tip rocker ski. We were looking over each other's EP Pro Stock's. I remember he skied very well that day beating out Mike Morgan and Lucky Lowe. He couldn't have been much older than 50. Sad news indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller A_B Posted January 12, 2013 Baller Share Posted January 12, 2013 53. He is/was my age. About a month apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller A_B Posted January 14, 2013 Baller Share Posted January 14, 2013 @Horton, email sent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Nando Posted January 14, 2013 Baller Share Posted January 14, 2013 This is very sad- he was a very unassuming guy, just very nice. He was a college friend of a guy I knew fairly well (Russ Clifford, the 6'8", one-thumbed, slalom skier from N.Dak. who coached at Rollins College for some time [last I heard of Russ, he was living in GB]). I got to ski with them once at John's site and all I remember is that except for the boat and skier paths, it was all lily pads so there was never a ripple. John ran -38 at least twice that day, and back then, that was quite a feat, so I was feeling pretty good that they took along this hanger-on. I remember standing next to John at the CC booth at the Nationals in maybe '82 where they were showing a tape of that year's Masters. He had missed the far end gate at -32 or -35 and the announcers were speculating how this could have happened when he was so far ahead. I turned to him said, "did you?", and he just nodded and said, "I did". He had gone for number seven at the Masters... He did set that world record on the infamous Taperflex Apex (see the dead ski companies thread), a scary ski with no front end- ski it right and it was magic; get a little forward and it would just stop... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller A_B Posted January 14, 2013 Baller Share Posted January 14, 2013 http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/orlandosentinel/obituary.aspx?n=john-henry-mcelyea&pid=162367606&fhid=4109 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller skiep Posted January 14, 2013 Baller Share Posted January 14, 2013 The lake most likely was Lake Jackson Tallahassee Fl. I remember seeing him ski there in the lily pads Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller liquid d Posted January 14, 2013 Author Baller Share Posted January 14, 2013 8:36am Jan 14 MCELYEA, JOHN HENRY, passed away in his sleep on Thursday, January 10, 2013. A loving father with a great sense of humor, he was a person of profound integrity and wisdom and a trusted friend to many. He loved his wife Tina and daughters Katie, Christie, and Allie and all of his family deeply. John practiced law for 27 years in Orlando, a profession to which he was passionately committed. John loved to spend time traveling on annual trips, surrounded by his wife, three daughters and family. John was born April 11, 1959, in Winter Park, FL to Jack McElyea and Jane Warnock McElyea. He graduated from Edgewater High School in 1977. He received his Bachelor's Degree from Florida State University in Finance and Real Estate in 1981 and his law degree from Florida State University College of Law in 1986. He married his wife Tina Ragan McElyea on May 30, 1987, and they were married for twenty five years. John was a pioneer world champion slalom water skier in 1980 and later competed on the Water Ski Tour. He loved the outdoors, especially fishing and golf, and John was an avid FSU Seminole Football fan. He was an active member of All Saints Episcopal Church for more than fifteen years. In addition to his wife Tina, John is survived by his daughters Katherine, Christina, and Allison; his mother Jane Warnock McElyea, his brother Jeff McElyea; his sister Pam McElyea Barnard and brother-in-law Dr. William Barnard; and nieces and nephews. A reception will be at the Baldwin Fairchild Lake Ivanhoe funeral home, 301 NE Ivanhoe Blvd., Orlando, on Wednesday, January 16. Family will be received from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.; and friends will be received from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The Memorial Service will be celebrated at All Saints Church in Winter Park, 338 East Lyman Avenue on Thursday, Jan. 17, at 11 a.m., reception to follow at the church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests tax-deductible donations to be sent to The Healing Ministry at All Saints Church (www.glennonhouse.org), 338 East Lyman Ave., Winter Park, FL 32789. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjmcelyea Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 hey y'all---i'm john's daughter, katie. i stumbled across this thread when trying to find some pictures of my dad from his waterskiing days, and I can't tell you how much it means to me to see him remembered like this. He loved the water and even more so loved the camaraderie of the waterskiing community. I was going through old pictures and I realized we don't have one of Dad from the day he broke the world record, would any of y'all know of anyone who might have that picture? Or any pictures...my email address is kjmcelyea@crimson.ua.edu. Thank you so much---and thank you again for remembering him. Katie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller MrJones Posted May 3, 2013 Baller Share Posted May 3, 2013 Katie, Very sorry for your loss. I never met your father, but read about him a bit when I was young and getting into skiing. I did work for Andy Mapple for a season when he ran ski school on Lake Hancock. We were talking about the old days one time and I remember your father's name coming up. Andy said, "that guy could ski". I remember thinking to myself that he must have been pretty special to have impressed Andy. Condolences to you and your family. Scot Jones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now