Elaine F. Alley

ELAINE F. ALLEY

Elaine Frederica (Schatz) Alley passed away peacefully on May 21, 2012 at her home in Bowie, Maryland, after a brief illness. Elaine was 91 years old and was a resident of Old Greenwich, Connecticut, for approximately 35 years, before retiring to Maryland in the mid-1980s. Funeral services will be held on Friday, May 25, 2012, at the Robert E. Evans Funeral Home, located in Bowie, Maryland. The family requests that any friends, neighbors, colleagues and former students who would like to share their thoughts and memories of Elaine please visit her tribute page at http://tinyurl.com/ElaineAlley .

Elaine Schatz was born April 6, 1921, in Brooklyn, New York, to George J. Schatz and Theresa Louise (Wurster) Schatz. The Schatzes moved to Mineola, New York when Elaine was a young child. Elaine attended Randolph-Macon Women's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, for one year, and then transferred to Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, where she received her B.A. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and was also a member of the Delta Zeta sorority. After graduation, Elaine worked at an advertising agency in New York City for several years.

Elaine met James Harvey Alley, Jr. in the late 1930s in the Poconos. Family legend has it that Harvey and his Uncle Phil were driving through the mountains looking for places to play golf when they got a flat tire, and decided to stay at the resort where Elaine and her parents were vacationing. The rest is history. Elaine and Harvey were married on December 8, 1945, after Captain Alley returned from his army combat service in the South Pacific during World War II.

Elaine and Harvey had two children – James H. Alley, III, and Barbara E. (Alley) Larson. Elaine was a stay-at-home Mom while her children were young, and was active as a troop leader in both the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Elaine also taught Sunday School at First Congregational Church in Old Greenwich, and the whole family was active in regular church activities. When her children were older, Elaine returned to school and received her Masters in Library Science from Pratt Institute in New York City in the early 1970s. She then worked as a librarian in the Greenwich Public School system for approximately 15 years, first at Western Junior High, then Parkway Elementary, and finally Old Greenwich Elementary.

Elaine is survived by her beloved husband Harvey; son James and daughter-in-law Marjorie E. Alley of Bowie, Maryland; daughter Barbara and son-in-law Jeffrey R. Larson, M.D. of Phoenix, Arizona; grandson Timothy J. Alley and granddaughter-in-law Heather E. Alley of Bowie, Maryland; granddaughter Elizabeth E. Alley of Crofton, Maryland; grandson Daniel P. Alley, of Bowie, Maryland; and cousin Eugene Wurster of Virginia Beach, Virginia.

If desired, contributions may be made to the Anne Arundel Medical Center Foundation at http://tinyurl.com/AAMC-Donation