Eloise Hutchins DeFalco

Eloise Hutchins DeFalco

AGE: 93 •

Eloise Hutchins DeFalco, 93, passed away on Saturday August 1, 2015. Eloise was born on January 6, 1922 in Ellenburg Center, New York. She was the youngest child of Dayton Carpenter and Loretta Patnode Hutchins. Eloise attended St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY, and graduated with a BS degree in Biology. She subsequently attended and graduated from the New Britain General Hospital School of Medical Technology, New Britain, CT, with a MT (ASCP) certificate.

Her first job was as a Medical Technologist at New Rochelle Hospital in New Rochelle, NY. Her second job was as Chief Medical Technologist at Mt. Vernon Hospital, Mt. Vernon, NY. She then moved to Somerville, NJ, where she worked, initially, at Somerset Hospital, and, then, at Ortho Diagnostics in neighboring Raritan, NJ. Ortho offered Eloise the opportunity to further her education, so she enrolled in graduate school, in the Zoology Department, at Rutgers University. One of her professors, and her eventual advisor, was Ralph DeFalco, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Eloise and Ralph were married on September 2, 1951, and lived for a brief time in Piscataway, NJ. They then moved to Highland Park, NJ, where they started a family. After several years, Eloise and Ralph moved to Bridgewater, NJ, and, shortly before Ralph's death in 1971, Eloise accepted a teaching assistant/lecturer position at Raritan Valley Community College, where she taught until she retired in 1986. She then moved to Hamilton Square, NJ, where she lived for many years in the same townhome community as her 2 sons and their wives. Four years ago, she moved to Monroe Village in Monroe Township, NJ. There she enjoyed the company of friends she had known from Hamilton Square and new friends she made after moving to Monroe. She enjoyed needle work of all kinds, travelling, birdwatching, the opera, music, reading, and volunteering (at Hamilton Hospital and as a docent at the John Abbott House, both while living in Hamilton Square).

Eloise is survived by her sons Alan (Annette) and Richard (Peggy) and daughters Susan (Tom) and Jane; grandchildren Dan (Anne), Carolyn, Sean, Sarah and William; great grandchildren Mitchell, Maxwell, and Miles; and many nieces and nephews, all of whom loved her and will miss her dearly. At her request, there will be no calling hours. Interment will be in the Pluckemin Cemetery, Pluckemin, NJ. A memorial service is planned for the fall.

Contributions in memory of Eloise can be made to the Ralph DeFalco Scholarship, c/o Rutgers University Foundation, 7 College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, or to a charity of one's choosing. Arrangements are under the direction of the Saul Colonial Home, 3795 Nottingham Way, Hamilton Square, NJ.

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