Eldon was born in Galesburg, Knox County, Illinois on October 1, 1927 to James Frederick Herron and Rose Leah Redshaw Herron. He was the third of six children, the eldest of whom died at birth.

Eldon was a child of the Great Depression. His father had a good job with the CB and Q railroad, but times were difficult, as his father supported grandparents, aunts and uncles, some of whom lived with the family. He also helped support a brother, wife and six children who lived in Beardstown, Illinois. Eldon helped to deliver food and necessities to this family who would not have survived without this help. There was, of course, no welfare at the time.

Eldon attended public school in Galesburg. One of his fondest memories was that of knowing Carl Sandburg, also born in Galesburg, who frequently visited a brother, Mark Sandburg, who was a friend and neighbor of the Herron family. Carl entertained all with his guitar and poems.

Eldon started working at age 13 and held several after-school jobs. In high school he was active in theater. He and his friends put on several plays during the summers. In 1945, he was graduated from Galesburg High School with honors and was chosen to be a member of the National Honor Society.

He attended Knox College, also located in Galesburg, and one of the last remaining sites where the Lincoln-Douglas debates took place. Before long, he received "Greetings" from President Harry Truman and was drafted into the Army Air Corps, soon to be the United States Air Force. In five years he held every enlisted rank then available and received a direct commission as an Air Force Officer during the Korean conflict.

As a junior officer, he was reassigned to Albrook Air Force Base where he met and married Martha Adelaide Hood, who was the daughter of his commander, Major General R.C. Hood, Jr. and Emma Clinton Thomas Hood. The next year, a son was born, and three years later, another son. After four years at Albrook, Eldon was reassigned to Warner Robbins Air Force Base in Georgia. He worked on communications construction projects on the missile range in Florida.

El, as he was known to his friends, was then assigned to the American Embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he served as an advisor to the Royal Danish Air Force for four years. These were wonderful years for the Herron family, and Martha and El visited 17 countries on various vacations while living there.

Reassigned to Andrews Air Force Base in suburban Washington DC, he worked in support of Air Force One and also on early computer projects. Because his duties gave him complete access to the flight line, he witnessed the arrival of many prominent American and world leaders, including the departure and return of President and Mrs. Kennedy before and after the tragedy in Dallas, Texas. Among other duties, he was assigned to be a military aide to Hubert and Mrs. Humphrey during Lyndon B. Johnson's Presidential Inaugural.

After three years , he was reassigned to Bogota, Colombia, where he served as a military advisor to The Colombian Air Force and oversaw the aid program that was in effect at that time.

El retired from the Air force in 1970, after twenty-five years of service, and moved to the Winter Park area, and 7 years later to the Mount Dora area. He chose to work in hospital administration, serving 5 years at Winter Park Hospital and fifteen years at Waterman Medical Center, from which he retired in 1990.

Eldon enjoyed travel, which he and Martha did as often as they could, boating, opera (he and Martha attended nearly 100 different operas in a number of countries), symphonic music, jazz, history and art, good books, baseball, and helping others, anonymously if possible.

He was a long time Mount Dora Yacht Club member, and served as commodore from 1991 to 1993. He was active in community and church work. He was a member of the Military Officers Association, the Sister Cities Organization, the Antique and Classic Boat Society, the Verdi Society of the Orlando Opera, and the Heritage Society of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, past member of the Mount Dora Chamber of Commerce, and served as treasurer of his neighborhood association for many years. He served on the vestry of St. Edward's Episcopal Church in Mount Dora and as an usher and greeter, and later as an usher at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Eustis.

He is survived by his widow, Martha , and two sons, Steven E. and two granddaughters, Ashley and Lindsay, and Thomas H. of Glenview, Illinois (near Chicago), wife Robin Frank Herron, and two grandsons, Evan and Caden.