Elizabeth "Lizzie" A. McElroy

Elizabeth Ashley McElroy (Rundo), known by nearly everyone as “Lizzie,” passed away surrounded by
family in Edgewood, Kentucky on Monday, June 9, 2025. She was a loving mother, wife, daughter, and sister, a dedicated teacher, world traveler, and warm, gentle spirit deeply connected to the natural world.

Lizzie is survived by her husband, Clinton McElroy, their children Eli (12), Ava (8), and Taylor (7, in dog years), her parents James and Ann Marie Rundo (Whelan), older brother Ed (Kiki) Rundo, niece Kallista Steffen, and younger sister Sami Rundo. Mother and father in-law Sherri and Bob Bukovec, sister and brother in-law Kara (nee McElroy) and Alex Grant, and nieces Sophia and Vivian. As well as countless other close friends and family.

Born on May 30, 1985, in Ft. Myers, Florida, Lizzie never lost a deep love for sunshine, the water and the beach. Throughout the summer she could be found spending weeks on Ft. Myers Beach, Hilton Head Island, or on Lake Lorelei at the Rundo’s lake resort. She loved to soak in the rays, but certainly didn’t just lay around simply basking. Lizzie was a cheerleader, so she had a knack for organizing activities and making sure everyone around her was happy. Stand-up paddle boarding, swimming, snorkeling (and SCUBA), fishing, castle building, and kite flying, wiffle ball games she made fun happen wherever she went.

She was also a life-long learner and loved education. The quote she used in her high school senior yearbook was “For in the end we’ll conserve what we love, we will love only what we understand and we will only understand what we are taught.” Formally, she graduated from Loveland High School, the University of Cincinnati (BAEd), and Xavier University (MEd), but she was always driven to learn even outside of school.Recently, she had applied herself to learning Spanish and she became remarkably fluent, although she would downplay her ability. She was a lifeguard, camp counselor, had formal SCUBA certification (Scuba Liz), studied sea life in Belize, was a master of arts and crafts, friendship bracelet & jewelry maker, she became a fantastic writer and kept a consistent journal for the past 15 years, and could play a rendition of the song “Peaches” on the piano that would knock your socks off.

Lizzie devoted 14 years to Cincinnati Public Schools, where she served with heart and purpose.Throughout her career she was not afraid to speak up and advocate for change within a school building.She deeply cared for, and fought for her students. Her first eight years in the district she taught 2nd and 3rd grade at Woodford Paideia. She met life-long friends there and made a building-wide impact by founding amusic club (strings), and starting a gardening club. For the past six years, she taught English as a Second Language at Dater High School, guiding students from across the globe with compassion and care. She hoped to establish a scholarship at Dater for ESL students seeking higher education.

Lizzie was a true adventurer at heart, and her travels often revolved around the world’s great natural wonders. From Niagara Falls to Key West, Arkansas Hot Springs, the Grand Canyon, Mammoth Cave, and Yosemite, Lizzie found joy and peace in the wild beauty of the world. Her well-worn passport told a story of discovery and awe, with stamps from Belize, Mexico, Portugal, France, and Canada—and many more destinations on the horizon. She dreamed of seeing the entire world, and approached each journey with gratitude and wonder. She felt a deep connection to the earth and so many times we could hear her just whisper “wow,” when standing on the edge of its beauty.

Lizzie was an amazing mother and wife, Eli and Ava are wonderful children because she has instilled in them her warmth, kindness, patience, goofiness, sense of adventure and fun nature. She will live on in them, as in the rest of us that she has touched throughout her life. Lizzie will be deeply missed and forever remembered, cheers to her.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Tuesday, June 24 from 5:00 to 8:00PM in the Great Hall at the Cincinnati Art Museum (953 Eden Park Dr, Cincinnati, OH 45202). Please wear shades of blue like the ocean, and bring the single most Lizzie picture you have (printed as a 4” by 6”). These photos will be collected and put into an album to be passed down to Eli and Ava.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to: Support Lizzie's Legacy for Education.