Elaine Hoiska

NEW IPSWICH - After a courageous fight, with her family at her side, Elaine (Klinker) Hoiska succumbed to illness during the evening of March 27 at St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua. She was 70 years old and had been a resident of New Ipswich for over 20 years.

She was born Elaine Joan Klinker and grew up in South Deerfield, Mass. After graduating from Frontier Regional High School, she attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. In 1965 she graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in Sociology, and also was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

Her graduate school education included a master's degree in Sociology from Columbia University in 1971 and a master's degree in Accounting from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1973. She passed her CPA examination on her first sitting while still attending graduate school and became a CPA in 1976 after satisfying the work experience requirement.

After working in public accounting and real estate accounting for eight years, the Governor of Vermont appointed her Tax Commissioner for the State of Vermont in 1981. Over the next four years, Elaine worked hard to improve the operational performance of the Tax Department, and she derived great satisfaction from the fact that her efforts had been successful. Her consulting career began in 1985 when she left government service to become Director of the State and Local Tax Practice for New England at Arthur Young in Boston.

Elaine's career culminated in 1988 when she founded her own tax consulting firm, the State and Local Tax Institute. Here she provided tax consulting services over the next 25 years to a variety of large corporations as well as to many small businesses. She worked tirelessly and was a very dedicated and passionate advocate for her clients. In conjunction with her consulting work, she was a very active member of the Massachusetts Society of CPA's, teaching numerous seminars and regularly speaking at conferences.

Elaine's personal interests were varied, and she often pursued them with equal passion. She was a dedicated runner in her thirties and successfully finished over a dozen marathons, including several near three-hour times at the Boston and New York City Marathons. For relaxation she enjoyed recreational hiking, skiing, golfing, tennis and wind surfing. In addition, she was a perceptive and insightful reader of both fiction and nonfiction, a critical student of current political and public policy issues, and a classic movie buff.

Elaine was devoted to her family and loyal to her friends. She was especially proud of the achievements of her two children. She valued her friendships at the Souhegan Country Club and greatly enjoyed the Club's summertime gatherings. We all will miss her generous heart, inquisitive mind, playful wit and irrepressible spirit.

She is survived by her husband, Bentti Hoiska; son, Tjalling Hoiska; daughter, Tuula Fai; brothers, Ronald, and Brian Klinker; grandson, Trevor Fai, and her beloved aunt, Gladys Shattuck.

Rest in peace, my love; you will be in our hearts forever.

All are invited to attend a Memorial Service for Elaine that will be held on Sunday, April 27 at 2 p.m. at the Cournoyer Funeral Home, 33 River Street (Route 202), Jaffrey, New Hampshire.