Marie Ellen Elphick

Obituary of Marie Ellen Elphick

Holley - Marie Ellen Campbell Elphick O.F.S. passed away peacefully on September 15th, 2025 surrounded by her children. She was predeceased by her parents, Irene and Alfred Campbell; and her much beloved husband, Charles Timothy Elphick; as well as her siblings, Everett, Frank and Gerald Campbell, Arlene Bowen and June Rooney. She is survived by her brothers, Arden, William, and John; as well as her children, Kevin, Michael (Katy) Elphick, Anne Marie, Therese (Mark) Flannery, Elizabeth (Daniel) Brozak, and Mary Ellen (Kevin) Tompkins; and her beloved grandchildren, Timothy, Joshua, Julianna, Phillip, Morgan, Jordan, and Hope.

Marie was fondly called "Aunt Marie" by her nieces and nephews, and named godmother to many at their Baptism rebirth. Marie was raised on a dairy farm in Orleans County, going on to attend Rochester Business Institute and the University College at Buffalo, where she studied medical transcription (her two sons followed after her in studying at the University at Buffalo). Her first employment was as a medical transcriber at St. Jerome's Hospital. Shortly thereafter, she married her Navy Veteran husband at St. Mary's Church in Holley. Together they made their home in a farmhouse on the banks of Sandy Creek where they lovingly raised their six children and where Marie would live out the remainder of her productive life.

Marie was very active in her local community, volunteering with the local scout troop and advocating in school board elections. She was especially proud to have been a mother to twin girls, and was active in the Mothers of Twins Organization. Together with her husband, she was a founding member of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church where she was a sacristan, Eucharistic Minister, Lector and Marriage Preparation Instructor. She taught religious education classes and served on the Parish Council. Ever patriotic, Marie staffed her local polling station for more than 30 years in support of the democratic process.

Her summers were spent at Pleasant Lake in the North Country with her treasured neighbors and friends who she called her "Camp Family." She traveled broadly, always with a pilgrim's heart, to Portugal, Yugoslavia, Italy, and the Holy Land.

Marie helped raise and co-parent her first grandchild, Timothy, in her own home. She was nurturingly and actively involved in the upbringing of each grandchild, especially attentive to instilling in them love of God and family. Marie was ever attentive to her own spiritual life, regularly attending daily liturgies and making religious retreats. She joined a Secular Franciscan fraternity, professing their Rule of Life, following after the example of St. Clare and St. Francis. She made repeated pilgrimages to Assisi, the birthplace of both Francis and Clare.

Alzheimer's profoundly impacted Marie's life, even before her own diagnosis in 2016. Her own mother, Irene, suffered with Alzheimer's, and Marie, along with her siblings, faithfully supported their mother and comforted her throughout the course of her long illness. Marie watched as the same disease took her sisters, Arlene and June, from her. Upon returning from her last trip to Europe, Marie, was herself diagnosed with Alzheimer's and began treatment for the disease. In the following 10 years she was ever-lovingly cared for in the same home in which she resided for over 60 years.

Family and friends are invited to call on Friday, September 19, 2025 from 2:00 - 4:00 and 7:00 - 9:00 pm at the Thomas E. Burger Funeral Home, Inc., 735 East Avenue, Hilton, NY 14468. A Mass of Christian Burial will celebrate her joyful entrance into eternal life on Saturday, September 20, 2025 at 1:30 pm at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, 3747 Brick Schoolhouse Rd., Hamlin, NY 14464. Interment will immediately follow thereafter at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, 6881 E. Canal Road, Brockport, NY 14420.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to one of Marie's favorite places, Notre Dame Retreat House, 5151 Foster Road Canandaigua, NY 14424 or to Our Lady of Fatima Shrine (Lewiston, NY) – Directed by The Barnabite Fathers, 1023 SWANN ROAD, PO BOX 167, Lewiston, New York, 14174-0167. To donate online click on the charity name.