Elaine Walsh

Elaine Theresa Walsh of Monroe, New Jersey, entered into Eternal Life on Tuesday May 16 at the age of 67. She was a proud New Jersey native, a dedicated nurse, and loving mother and grandmother.

She is survived by her husband, Thomas; her two sons, Matthew and his wife, Emily, and Daniel; her grandson, Theodore; and her brothers Ray and his wife Marianne, Walt and his wife Helle, and sister-in-law, Tish. She was predeceased by her older brother, Vince.

The daughter of the late Theresa and Walter DePalma, Elaine spent her adolescence in West Paterson, Fairfield and Somers Point. Following high school, she graduated from Montclair State College with a degree in biology and worked for a time at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Elaine desired to be a healer, and so studied to become a nurse, graduating from Atlantic Community College as an RN and Felician University as an LPN. As a nurse, nurse practitioner, and case manager, she served in numerous hospitals, clinics and hospices in New Jersey and New York for 40 years. Ever committed to her vocation, the pandemic and demands on the healthcare system found her shifting to telehealth helping hundreds of patients quickly get the care they needed.

Elaine and Tom met at Berakah Catholic Singles Group in 1984 and were married soon after. They spent the better part of 26 years in Montclair raising their sons. Elaine and Tom were devoted and active members of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church, as well as avid (and quite nimble!) dancers at the Arthur Murray Dance School. As forever lifelong learners and lovers of the arts, they were members of the New Jersey Symphony, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and American Museum of Natural History. Elaine and Tom traveled as often as they could, most recently to Germany for the Oberammergau Passion Play. In 2019, they moved to Freehold and then Monroe where they resided until her death.

A funeral service will be held on Thursday, June 22 (Tom and Elaine’s wedding anniversary) at Co-Cathedral of St. Robert Bellarmine in Freehold. A Celebration of Life and Gathering will take place at their home on Saturday June 24. Burial will be at a later time.