By Ron Hayes
BRINY BREEZES — During her 11 years in Briny Breezes, Elaine McCormick took part in community shows, parades and clubs. She was also active at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church and VFW Post #5335.
And she earned a certificate from a clown school.
“She loved clowns,” recalls her husband, James. “She said, ‘I’m a natural,’ so she got a diploma. She was a fun lady.”
Mrs. McCormick died Dec. 12 at home. She was 79 and had battled leukemia.
“She died peacefully,” James McCormick noted. “There was no pain.”
Born Jan. 25, 1934, in New York City, Mrs. McCormick attended Saints Peter and Paul Grammar School, followed by the Special Surgery of New York City, where she worked for five years after completing her nursing training.
After moving to Keansburg, N.J., with her husband, Mel Rosario, she worked at King James Nursing Home and did private duty nursing in Colt’s Neck, N.J. She was active in the Middletown, N.J., Elks Lodge #2179 and president of its Women’s Auxiliary, where she organized travel vacations, fashion shows and auctions to benefit local charities.
She moved to Briny Breezes in 2002, after her husband’s death, and married James McCormick, a longtime family friend from the Keansburg Elks Lodge.
“She carried the water for anybody,” Mr. McCormick said. “She would help anyone, known or unknown, with no accolades expected. And she was a go-getter. She loved Briny Breezes. She loved the people here.”
In addition to her husband, Mrs. McCormick is survived by three stepsons, James McCormick Jr., Patrick McCormick and Sean McCormick, a stepdaughter, Jennifer Colon; a grandson, John Quinn; and a great granddaughter, Amelia Quinn.
A funeral Mass was held Dec. 20 at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church, with interment at Fairview Cemetery in Keansburg, N.J.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to Hospice of Palm Beach County.
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