Elsie A. Ashenburg

Ashenburg, Elsie A.
When Elsie Siegl graduated from East High School in 1937, she was one of only two students in New York State to receive 100% in a Regents examination. But for her parents, who had emigrated from Germany in the 1920s and were working hard to stay afloat in the Depression, sending a girl to college was unimaginable. That did not deter East High's principal, Albert Wilcox, who wrote to them about Elsie's "remarkable" record and suggested she could win a University Scholarship of $100. Frank Siegl, her father, was dubious - what good was college for a girl, especially one who already had a job in a cookie factory? - but Mr. Wilcox prevailed. Elsie, who died on Oct. 19 at 88, graduated from the University of Rochester in 1941 with a bachelor of science degree in nursing. She was the first student in the nursing program to be inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society.
A tall, beautiful brunette, Elsie had many suitors, but she chose Norman Ashenburg and married him in 1942. He had been her bacteriology professor and waited until she earned her "A" before he began courting her, outstaying her other callers. After the war, where she did graduate work while nursing at a Virginia naval base, the couple returned to Rochester. Norman became a doctor, and they had five children, Katherine, Norman, Jr. (Buzz), Beth, Carole and Robert.
Mr. Wilcox had assured her parents that Elsie's brains and ability to work hard would stand her in good stead whatever she did. That proved true, as she ran a large household, made dinner and dessert for seven every night and found time to sew, knit, smock, stencil, make hooked and braided rugs and refinish the antique furniture she and her husband loved. Uniting two of her loves - clothes and bargains - she volunteered for 20 years at Strong Memorial Hospital's second-hand shop and won the Dove award for dedicated volunteering in 1995. She was a formidable bridge player and always found the hidden treasure at a garage sale. Praising her "gamin eyes in an angel face," her U of R yearbook noted that she saw everything in the right perspective. She only lost that perspective when someone criticized or threatened one of her children: then she was furious and unforgiving.
Elsie suffered from Alzheimer's disease for more than a decade. Since her husband's death in 2005, she was cared for devotedly by her granddaughter, Laura Petralia, as well as her aides Allene, Carol, Lauren, Marilyn, and Nadia. Special thanks also to her wonderful doctor, Charlene Conners. She leaves her sister, Marguerite Driscoll, her children, two daughters-in-law, 12 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. In 1937, the East High yearbook wrote of Elsie, "She gives many her ear, but few her voice." We will miss that acute, sympathetic ear.
The family will welcome friends at a reception on Sunday, November 11 from 2-5 P.M. at Cutler Union in the Memorial Art Gallery, 500 University Avenue, Rochester. The Memorial Service will take place at Blessed Sacrament Church, 259 Rutgers Street, Rochester, at 10 A.M. on Monday, November 12.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the University of Rochester, School of Nursing Development Office, 300 East River Road, RC Box 278996, Rochester, NY, 14627-8996.