Elaine Delaney - a life of service to community.
Florence Elaine Turville Delaney, dubbed The Indispensable Ms. Delaney in a Winchester Star article extolling her extraordinary volunteer service to her community, died at her Winchester home on August 2, 2010. Her family and her ever-present collie dog were at her side. She is survived by her husband of 63 years, Dr. Henry R Delaney, their three children, Raymond T., Elaine Delaney Winn, and Karen Demasco, eight grandchildren and one great grandchild. She was the beloved sister of the late Admiral William C. Turville, USNMC and was the daughter-in-law of the late Admiral and Mrs. Henry R. Delaney, USNDC.
Born in Boston to Dr. and Mrs. William H.H. Turville (Florence M. Griffin,) Mrs. Delaney grew up as a “Navy Junior,” often moving between U.S. Naval hospital bases where her father was in command. However, Mrs. Delaney always felt most at home in Boston, where her mother’s family had lived for generations and Philadelphia, from where her father hailed. Her close-knit extended family had much influence on her character. Mrs. Delaney clearly remembered working with the women of her mother’s family to fold gauze sponges for the American Red Cross and preparing boxes of food and clothing for people in need.
As a child thrust into new and unfamiliar surroundings, Mrs. Delaney embraced the opportunity she had to learn about the new cultures she was exposed to. This early experience left her with a passion for travel and learning about world cultures. Mrs. Delaney loved world music and dance. She was particularly fond of learning to prepare foreign cuisine and to hand embroider in the styles she had seen in her travels throughout the world. She was captivated by heavenly perfumes and methodically searched them out in her travels. Her on-the-move childhood, which at times could be solitary, spawned a devotion to reading, music, her pet collie dogs, and her older brother, Bill, Jr., five years her senior. Through their childhood exploits, some of her well-known virtues can be seen as lifelong character traits. She often would laughingly recall herself as, “...a very dull child,” who would perform sentry duty of their quarters when her brother, tired of playing with his little sister, commanded her to. Here, she was relentless in pursuit of duty and only stood down when her brother’s guilt caused him to beg her to stop. Many that knew her as an adult say that this was just Elaine’s lifelong trait of carrying out any task to the best of her ability. Another illuminating vignette again involves her brother, a child of vivid imagination and strong artistic ability who sought to recreate the military regalia that he was smitten with. The youngster forged two replica Navy sabers by using steel pipes, their home’s furnace as his kiln, and a large hammer. He honed a fine edge on each sword by buffing them against the front granite steps of their house with cooking oil. He then taught his four-year-old sister to wield her sword in defense of his. Not long after these creations were put to use, the unflappable future president of Winchester’s EnKa Society, the Home and Garden Club, and The College Club, calmly walked into her father’s study. “Father, do you have your medical bag at hand?” she asked. When he confirmed that he did, she bubbled in good cheer, “Oh! That is good, because I think I need a stitch or two...” and displayed her tiny, gashed forearm wrapped in a blood soaked towel for him to see.
Her brother was not always careless in his treatment of his younger sister and in fact he is credited with saving her life. Once on a road trip in her family’s car at a time when deep roadside ravines and valleys went unguarded and cars had no seat belts, Mrs. Delaney prattled on about her friend’s new family car that came equipped with door locks. Unbeknownst to her parents, she played with her door handle while she talked. Suddenly, the car door flew open and out she began to slide into the mountain vapors beyond. Her brother braced his legs around the car’s interior and grabbed onto her with both arms while yelling for his parents to pull over as soon as possible. His parents and sister never forgot his heroic response that saved her life.
Though she was always ready to play any game that her beloved roguish brother could dream up, she was known for her warm, reserved, feminine nature. A closet hopeless romantic, she was often moved to tears by love stories, heroic legends -most often canine, and impassioned pieces of music. She sang uplifting pieces of music beautifully but had to be caught unaware for anyone to get the chance to hear her. Mrs. Delaney welcomed the opportunity to entertain guests. She loved to plan carefully orchestrated parties. Music always played in her home where many of her hand embroidered pieces and floral arrangements could be seen. Her love of music began at age 6 when she began to study piano. She became so fond of playing; she decided then to buy her own piano. Here lay the early signs of the circumspect treasurer that later served many Winchester organizations. She purchased her own piano at eight years of age by diligently saving her allowance and completing extra tasks for her mother. This piano joined her books and collies on her travels. She continued to play vigorously until age 20 when a required surgery diminished the strength and flexion in her right hand.
As she approached her teen years during the time when the United States prepared to enter the Second World War, Mrs. Delaney’s father led a group of fellow University of Pennsylvania Medical School alumni to Guadalcanal on a classified mission to develop and prepare mobile military hospitals for deployment in combat areas. Mrs. Delaney returned to the safety of Philadelphia with her mother and her brother. She often joined her mother’s circle of friends to crochet afghans for soldiers convalescing in military hospitals. She attended Mrs. Turnbull’s School for Girls and graduated high school from Friends Select of Philadelphia. She yearned to spend her college years at a conservatory for Music, but she felt the need to be of service to a world at war. She applied to the Women’s College of the University of Pennsylvania -which also let her be near her brother who was then at the University’s Medical School. She won a merit-based scholarship from the Philadelphia Inquirer that helped to defray her tuition costs for her four years. Upon her graduation from UPENN with the Class of 1945, Mrs. Delaney entered the Master’s program at the Simmons School of Social Work. She was sent as a Social Work intern for the American Red Cross to St. Albans US Naval Hospital, Queens, NY. There she became reacquainted with the son of another Naval family, Henry R. Delaney, Jr., who was also at St. Albans completing his medical internship after his graduation from Georgetown Medical School. The couple soon realized they were destined to marry. Mrs. Delaney’s father agreed to the match but stipulated that her pet collie was part of the deal and was to stay with her parents after she married. When she agreed, her parents knew their daughter felt she had found her perfect mate for life. The two were married in the Chapel at the Naval Hospital, Newport RI, where her father was then in command. The newly married Navy couple served in Washington, DC for two years before being ordered to the U.S. Naval Air Station, Coco Solo, Panama. There they lived across the street from quarters that Mrs. Delaney had lived in as a child with her family. Panama brought them a lifetime of friends and adventures that to this day bring joyful memories. They returned to the United States in the early fifties and choose Winchester as the town where they would raise their family in civilian life. At the same time Mrs. Delaney’s parents decided to retire from Active Duty, and they joined their daughter and her family in civilian life in Winchester. Her father was quickly approached by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to design and oversee the building of a new chronic care hospital. Dr. Turville oversaw the building of the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Jamaica Plain from conception to ribbon cutting and then stayed on as the hospital’s first administrator. Her father’s choice to continue to use his talents to serve rather than simply retire was a true inspiration to Mrs. Delaney. She vowed to find ways to serve her new community. She hoped she too would stay a vital worker until a very old age.
In the five decades since her family returned to the Boston area, Mrs. Delaney’s picture has appeared in various periodicals numerous times in tribute to volunteer activities that spanned from the American Red Cross, Lawrence Memorial Hospital Women’s Auxiliary, the Massachusetts Society to Prevent Cruelty to Animals, and the Winchester Scholarship Foundation, as well as other Winchester organizations. Her organizational prowess combined with her gentle manner enabled her to accomplish much. One example of her great ability to organize was when Mrs. Delaney was Chair of the EnKa Society’s annual street fair, a job most agree is truly daunting. But few realize that within weeks of her highly successful EnKa Fair, Mrs. Delaney hosted a lovely, large wedding for a daughter that included accommodating a dozen houseguests. In the words of long time friend, Sandy Alla, “In the midst of a world whirling around her, Elaine was always a calm, steady, beautiful force.”
Of the many roles Mrs. Delaney assumed, her favorite was acting as treasurer. For decades she served that role concurrently for several of the many groups she belonged to. Besides remaining an Honorary member of EnKa Society and the Winchester Home and Garden Club until the end of her life, Mrs. Delaney was also a founder and a Trustee of the Winchester Senior Association. A front-page story on her work with the WSA coincidently appeared in their August 2010 newsletter that was released for circulation just days before her death.
With her growing awareness that her devoted husband would survive her, Mrs. Delaney requested that he receive a posthumous gift from her. Thirteen days following her death, an 8-week old collie puppy arrived from Black Rapid Falls, Wisconsin. Willy was presented to Mrs. Delaney’s husband on his 90th birthday. Her family decided to give Willy a fitting name for his American Kennel Club Pedigree; Hickory Creeks Willy That The Angels Sent. As in life, Mrs. Delaney had seen to every detail. She created a satisfying and productive life of community involvement as she had hoped to, but she had always kept a steady gaze on her family and touched each of their lives with her loving ways. Gifts in her memory would be most welcome by the EnKa Society 1037 Main St., Winchester, MA 01890, the Winchester Senior Association/Jenks Center, 109 Skillings Rd., Winchester, MA 01890, the Collie Rescue League of New England, Inc. or the University of Pennsylvania’s Undergraduate Scholarship fund.