Elsie Esther Kelemen
Elsie Kelemen passed away peacefully at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital on March 26th after complications from a stroke. She lived to enjoy her 100th Birthday Bash surrounded by family and friends.
Elsie Esther Kelemen was born to John and Goldie Schreiber on February 14, 1916. She grew up in New York City and Brooklyn, N.Y. and worked as a secretary on Wall Street before marrying Dr. Nicholas Kelemen on November 21, 1940.
She was a bright woman who brought joy to all her interactions. She and her husband lived in East Newark, N.J. where Elsie was an active member of her community, generously volunteering her time in a variety of organizations including the Welfare Assistance Board in East Newark, chairing the Hudson County Cultural Council, serving as Vice President of the Women’s Auxiliary of West Hudson Hospital, Vice president of the Kearny Safety Council, and as a member of the Steering Committee for the West Hudson Girl Scouts. She also served as President of the Board of Education for East Newark. In 1974, she was Local Municipal Chairman for the United Way for East Newark. She thoroughly enjoyed being an active volunteer with the Half Penny Playhouse in Kearny, N.J.
Elsie and Nicholas Kelemen had two daughters, Eve and Susan.
In 1991, she and her husband moved to Santa Barbara, California to be close to Eve and their granddaughters, Dawn and Lynn. Elsie was predeceased by her husband, Nicholas, and lived at Maravilla since 2005.
Elsie was a wonderful, loving mother, grandmother and lady, who had a lot of friends. She loved to read and enjoyed classical music. She will be greatly missed.
Elsie is survived by her daughters, Eve Kelemen of Santa Barbara, CA and Susan Kelemen (James Smith) of Pittsboro, NC and granddaughters, Dawn Kriss (Alex) of Brooklyn, N.Y. and Lynn Lohnas of New York, N.Y. She is also survived by a loving nephew, Jeff, special friend, Sandy, and numerous other relatives and friends.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to either Chabad of Santa Barbara at www.sbchabad.org or the Santa Barbara library at www.friends-sblibrary.org.