Michael Leo McElroy, a.k.a. Mac, 71, of Fairfield, was born in Norwalk, CT on October 20, 1954, and passed away on January 12, 2026. He is survived by his wife, Catherine Anne Wilcox-McElroy, and two children Fiona and Mairéad McElroy, of Fairfield; his brother Andrew (Jan) McElroy; sisters Kathleen Hazen, Maura Milner, Gretta (Chris) Benson, and Marcia McElroy; his in-laws William (Tara) Wilcox, Amy (Brian) Arnone, Heather (John) Robertson, and Alexis (Dana Rozanski) Wilcox, as well as numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews. Mac is predeceased by his parents Andrew and Margaret (Devine) McElroy.

Mac attended kindergarten at Cranbury School then went to St. Jerome’s, graduating from Central Catholic High School and on to Paul Smith’s College to study Forestry. After that he continued his education at the University of New Haven, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Civil Engineering. Once he got his Land Surveyor and House Inspector licenses he opened his own business, Black Rock Surveyors, including his childhood friend Tommy Eula in the enterprise. Black Rock Surveyors will continue operating as part of Mac’s legacy, with his nephew Brian Arnone Jr. at the helm.

Mac loved animals: turtles in the Partrick Road neighborhood pond, tanks full of tropical fish rescued from Rhode Island, his first dog Betsey Ross he got for his fourth birthday, and Zac, his trusty surveying Shih Tzu sidekick. He was an avid scuba diver, and he shared this hobby with Catherine Anne on their honeymoon in Newport.

Mac met his wife Catherine Anne (Cathy) through a blind date, and coincidentally they realized they both belonged to the Ski Bears in Norwalk. This crew enjoyed skiing, biking, volleyball, and volunteering at the Oyster Festival! He was as gentle as he was silly, adored all his nieces and nephews and was especially proud of his children Fiona and Mairéad. Mac never hesitated to engage with his kids’ friends as captives subject to his inscrutable dad jokes: deliberately deployed with suspense and stealthy delivery.

Mac possessed a dearth of factoids about trees and soils science. As a land surveyor, he could wield a chainsaw, machete, sledgehammer, and his robotic transit. He pitched horseshoes anddrank beer with his friends. He supported many different environmental and social justice causes, by offering his land surveying services to Habitat for Humanity and making sure Bernie Sanders got all the $27 donations he asked for. Mike was passionate about fairness and equity. Science and environmentalism was a constant theme in his home. He spent years filtering canola oil from the pizza place to run his converted veggie diesel Jetta, and bringing it to display at local Earth Day celebrations with the help of Fiona and Mairéad–inspiring them to remain passionate leaders of environmental justice in their daily pursuits.

Mac was an avid supporter of Habitat for Humanity, providing surveys for years, of houses to be rehabbed in Bridgeport. He and Fiona shared a love of rock hounding, hiking with chisel and mallet, examining various kinds of rocks and minerals in the area, even setting up a noisy rock polishing device in the garage. While not a musician himself Mac bought many instruments for his kids and spent a lot of time driving both Fiona and Mairéad to their next dance practice, orchestra rehearsal, drum lesson, or supervising rock concerts, constantly remarking how impressed he was by their devotion to their passions. Michael also designed a green home incorporating sustainable technologies. His curiosity knew no bounds. He was obsessed with searching for the money pit on his absolute favorite show “The Curse of Oak Island.” He has recently become a card-carrying member of the International Flying Saucer Bureau and attended monthly meetings at the library. The Buffalo Bills became his favorite football team; he lived in the hoodie that he purchased at the stadium while on the way to Niagara Falls and Toronto for his 25th anniversary with Catherine Anne.

When people describe Mac, they use words like sweet, generous, loving, smart, interesting, awesome, a gentle soul with the most caring eyes, wonderful, kind-hearted, lovely, special, funny, devoted husband and father, and selfless. His memory will forever be with all those he touched and his spirit will reside in our hearts for eternity as we navigate this profound loss.

There will be a Celebration of Life service at The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport, CT Saturday, February 7, 10 AM at 10 Lyons Plains Road.

Calls and cards will be gratefully accepted.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to:

Habitat for Humanity https://habitatcfc.org/donatetoday/donate.html.

 or

nOURish Bridgeport Inc. https://www.nourishbpt.org/donate.