Eleanor Elizabeth Shelko

Eleanor Shelko of the Hideout, Lake Ariel, Pennsylvania, died February 6, 2017, at White Plains Hospital after a second battle with cancer. She was 78 years old and shared her happiness and grace with everyone she met, each day of her life. Her family is heartbroken by her loss but we know that her love for us will never fade and will always be felt. She was beautiful and brave and strong beyond words. She was a woman of valor.

Born in Brooklyn and proud of it, Ellie was a loving and beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin and friend. She is preceded in death by her husband, Art Shelko. Their love was a 50-year bond of romance, devotion and humor, holding hands and spending every possible moment together, through good times and tough times, in sickness and in health.

Ellie brought joy and warmth to all she did, with a kind and encouraging word for everyone she encountered. Over the course of her life she was an executive recruiter, an artist and art teacher, a school volunteer, and primarily a nurturer. She enjoyed reading, needlework, painting and watching sports on tv, often doing two of those things at the same time. She loved her pets, she loved shopping, and she loved her family very much. She was the first female officer and first female President of Congregation Beth Mordecai in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, as well as Sisterhood President. After retirement, she was active in the Hideout Adult Social Group and a performer with the Hideout Legends. She was known and loved for her warmth, strength, loyalty, generosity, enthusiasm, dignity, integrity and positive spirit.

She is survived by her daughters, Renee Tortoriello and her husband Michael of New Jersey; Wendee Martin and her husband Steven; and Loree Shelko Nail and her husband Eric of New York; sisters, Lane Szuhany and her husband, Bob, of New Jersey; and Candy Carrigan and her wife Kathy Marvel of Arizona; grandchildren, Eric Tortoriello and his wife Rain; Stephanie Rullo and her husband Andrew; Arthur Groch and his wife Shelly; Kristen Tortoriello; Theresa Triplett and her husband Bobby; Steven Martin; and Alyson Baggatta and her husband James; ten great-grandchildren; six nieces and nephews; and fifteen great-nieces and nephews.She was preceded in death by her sister, Paula Carrigan, and her granddaughter, Samantha Groch.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to White Plains Hospital, in gratitude for the exceptional care that Ellie received there. Please visit https://www.givetowphospital.org/ways-of-giving/in-honor-in-memory-gifts. Her daughters would like to offer their deepest thanks to the doctors and staff that treated Ellie, particularly Dr. Michael Padial and Registered Nurse Miracle Davenport.