Armond E. Stroud

Armond Eugene Stroud 92, of Penney Farms, Florida, passed away Tuesday, February 16, 2021, after a life that was well-lived.  A.E., as he was known to others, was born on November 3, 1928, in Huntington, Indiana, to parents Donald Stroud and Mary Marie Morrett.  He married Betty Kiefer on November 15, 1950.  On that day they drove to nearby Ft. Wayne, had lunch at a drive-in, chose a church that looked “just right”, and cornered the resident minister to marry them.  They lived in Charleston, South Carolina for a short time, later in Cocoa Beach, Florida and finally settled in Jacksonville, Florida.

A.E.’s father died when he was eight years old.  He had many great memories of his father teaching him to fly fish, shoot a rifle, and hunt raccoons.  He and his mother went to live with his grandparents after his father’s death.  His grandfather spent time showing him the rail yards, where his grandfather was a supervisor of engineers and firemen.  When he was a teenager, his uncle gave him two pairs of boxing gloves, which he used to box with his friends.  When he grew tired of boxing, he decided to be an explorer and hitch-hiked 900 miles to Miami, Florida.

Commercial diving became A.E.’s occupation.  He obtained his first diving job by convincing the supervisor at Charleston Shipyards that he knew how to dive.  While he was employed at Jacksonville Shipyards, he acquired real experience doing all the work that required diving.  He established Stroud Diving & Hydrography in the mid-1950s.  He and his employees performed underwater inspections, maintenance, salvage, demolition and surveys over the eastern and mid-west United States and Belize in South America.  Controlled use of dynamite was a self-taught skill that A.E. used in demolition projects.  Stroud Diving & Hydrography was sold in January 1985 but the business continued to use the name Stroud Diving for many years.  A portion of his diving equipment was featured in an exhibit at the Jacksonville Museum of Science and History in the 1990s.

A.E. and Betty were married for 70 years.  After selling Stroud Diving, they enjoyed flying airplanes and aerobatics at St. Augustine Airport.  The Skybolt, an open cockpit biplane was one of A.E.’s favorites.  A mid-wing aerobatic airplane, he called Super X, was built to his specifications.  A.E. and Betty flew their small tandem seat Citabria airplane cross country to Alaska multiple times, and they would camp and fish in remote locations.  Ballroom dancing was an additional pastime for A.E., especially swing dancing.

Trap shooting and sporting clays were of great enjoyment for A.E.  He was a member of the Gainesville Gun Club and the Jacksonville Gun Club.  He enjoyed shooting in competition and won the Florida State Handicap Championship in 1970.

In his later years, A.E. enjoyed writing adventure stories.  His books included Arctic Robin; Wings and Gold; Through the Halo; The Bush Pilot, Shrew and Hermit; and Christmas Big Time.  Much of A.E.’s personality is seen in his writing.  He also liked to keep active working around the house and yard.  While in his 80’s he cleaned off the roof of his two-story house, much to the concern of family and neighbors.

A.E. is survived by his wife Betty Stroud; his sister Mary Ann Eisenhower of Huntington, IN; two children Cindi Stroud of Hendersonville, NC and Shara Hightower (husband Bob) of Tallahassee, FL; four grandchildren, Hannah Masters of Hendersonville, NC, Tyler Stroud-Etherton of Jacksonville, FL, Kristin Martin (husband John) of Jacksonville, FL, Matt Norville of Tampa, FL; and four great-grandchildren, Cason Etherton, Mason Martin, Emmy Martin and June Martin.

A private celebration of life will be held at Penney Farms Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Residents Aid Fund at Penney Farms Retirement Community, 3495 Hoffman St./P.O. Box 554, Penney Farms, FL 32079.