Dr. Elroy Taylor Cantrell

Dr. Elroy Taylor Cantrell of Stephenville, Texas, passed away August 20, 2025, in Fort Worth, Texas, at the age of 82. He was born May 10, 1943, in Mobile, Alabama, the son of William Vernon Cantrell and Thelma Charlotte Taylor Cantrell. He married Carlene Hannis on March 31, 1967, in Memphis, TN. In 1965 he graduated with a Bachelor degree from Arkansas State University where he was a founding member of the Fraternity that became Alpha Tau Omega and participated in theater. He received a Master of Science degree from the University of Tennessee in 1968. He received a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Baylor College of Medicine and then completed a post-doctoral fellowship there. Subsequently, he was hired by Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine to teach Pharmacology and ultimately became the Chairman of the Department. In 1984 he graduated from Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine with a Doctor of Osteopathy and entered private practice working initially in small town clinics and then serving in small to medium-size emergency rooms throughout Texas.

He was a member of the American Osteopathic Association and the Texas Osteopathic Medical Association. He served in various churches over the years as a music leader, church choir member and deacon. He was also a certified Lay Speaker in the United Methodist Church. He was a member of Kiwanis and served as a fire department volunteer.

Over the years he enjoyed sky diving, flying his Cessna 210, photography, and inventing medical devices. He holds several U.S. Patents.

Elroy is survived by his wife, Carlene Cantrell of Stephenville, TX; his daughter, Melissa "Missy" Cantrell Waugh, and her husband, Bryan Lamar “Marty” Waugh (2 ½); his son, William Floyd Cantrell II, married to Whitney Kathleen Cantrell; his grandchildren, Ethan Tyler Cantrell, married to Mathea Wells Cantrell, Taylor Alexander Cantrell, Alexia Faith Waugh, Bryan Jose Waugh, and William Aubrey Cantrell; and his siblings, Larry William Cantrell, James Rex Cantrell, and Patsy Cantrell Nichols.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Verlin Gene Cantrell.

Visitation will be Wednesday, August 27, 2025, from 1:00 pm until 1:45 pm, at Kirby & Family Funeral Home Chapel. A Funeral Service for Elroy will be 2:00 pm, Wednesday, August 27, 2025, at Kirby & Family Funeral Home Chapel, with Pastor Aline McCracken officiating and Gaila Tackitt and Mindy Carter leading the congregational hymns. Burial will be in the Mount Calm Cemetery, in Viola, Arkansas, with Marty Waugh, Rhet Cantrell, Will Cantrell, Ethan Cantrell, Taylor Cantrell, and Bryan Waugh as pallbearers, and Larry Cantrell, Rex Cantrell, Patsy Cantrell, Alexia Waugh, and Aubrey Cantrell as honorary pallbearers.

The service will be live-streamed, click here to view the livestream.

Memorials may be made to Tarleton State College of Osteopathic Medicine in Stephenville, TX at the following link: https://bit.ly/DrCantrell. You may enter any donation amount. Under TEF Fund Designation, click “Donor Choice.” For Affiliation, click “Friend.” In the “Comments and Other Information” section, please write “Add to the Dr. Cantrell Memorial” so that the donation will be appropriately applied. The family contact to enter, if you would like a notification of your gift sent to the family, is “Melissa Waugh at melissa.k.waugh@gmail.com.” A tree will be planted in his honor on the medical school campus with a memorial bench installed under the tree.

Arrangements are by Kirby and Family Funeral and Cremation Services - Mountain Home, Arkansas. Visit an online obituary and guestbook at www.kirbyandfamily.com.