Elaine Scalora
Elaine was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on March 18, 1936. She attended St. Mary's High School in Lawrence and went on to study art at Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, Massachusetts, where she received her BS in Art Education in 1958. While Elaine was a college student her love of art and children was practically applied when she set up an art studio in the basement of her family's home and gave art lessons to her cousins and other children in the neighborhood. In 1959, she married William Scalora, moved to upstate New York and started her family. In 1964; she and Bill with three children moved to Branford, Connecticut. They had two more children and by 1969 Elaine was pursuing her Masters in Art Education at Southern Connecticut State College and began substitute teaching in the Branford school system. In 1977, Elaine was offered a teaching position in the art department of Branford Intermediate School, now Francis Walsh Intermediate School.
Aside from her teaching responsibilities, Elaine coached the cheerleaders at BIS, a job she was well suited for due to her years of cheering for the student athletic teams at Branford. She was often the loudest cheerleader in the bleachers. She was also involved in various programs at BIS that involved mentoring students in a program called Teachers as Friends.
There was often a student in her classes she would take under her wing that needed special attention. Elaine was not only a mother to the five children she was raising at home but she also nurtured and cared for her students and took pride in their creativity and work.
Elaine's hobbies always involved a creative endeavor. She did macramé, created pottery in her basement with her husband and children, sewed clothing and quilted. She did stained glass, embroidery, painted and batiked. Along with her artistic pursuits, Elaine was a great fan of the seashore and spent the summers of her life on the beach in Maine.
Elaine retired in 1994, bought an RV with husband Bill and traveled cross-country, meeting up with their children along the way. She fell in love with the west coast of Florida and built her dream house on the beach in the "pan handle". They divided their time between Florida and New Hampshire, where they had built a home years earlier.
Elaine passed away suddenly in November of 1998. She left her husband, five children and six grandchildren, which has now expanded to twelve grandchildren. Her husband Bill resides in New Hampshire. Her oldest daughter Catherine lives in Orange, CT with her husband Guy and two daughters, Isabella 20 and Elaina 7. Son Bill lives in Jamestown, Rhode Island, with his son Jace 19. Amy lives in Cumberland, Rhode Island, with her husband Carl and sons William 11, Luke 9, Gabriel 7 and daughter Elizabeth (Ellie) 2. Peter lives in Narragansett, Rhode Island with his wife Wendi and daughters Sophia 14, Vanessa 12 and Olivia 11. Paul lives in Tucson, Arizona with his wife Melissa, son Walter 8 and daughter Gianna 6. Her sister Maureen Cunningham, who together with her husband Jack, raised three children in Branford-Ellen, Kellie and Patrick, also survive Elaine. Elaine's memory lives on in all of their hearts.
Aside from her teaching responsibilities, Elaine coached the cheerleaders at BIS, a job she was well suited for due to her years of cheering for the student athletic teams at Branford. She was often the loudest cheerleader in the bleachers. She was also involved in various programs at BIS that involved mentoring students in a program called Teachers as Friends.
There was often a student in her classes she would take under her wing that needed special attention. Elaine was not only a mother to the five children she was raising at home but she also nurtured and cared for her students and took pride in their creativity and work.
Elaine's hobbies always involved a creative endeavor. She did macramé, created pottery in her basement with her husband and children, sewed clothing and quilted. She did stained glass, embroidery, painted and batiked. Along with her artistic pursuits, Elaine was a great fan of the seashore and spent the summers of her life on the beach in Maine.
Elaine retired in 1994, bought an RV with husband Bill and traveled cross-country, meeting up with their children along the way. She fell in love with the west coast of Florida and built her dream house on the beach in the "pan handle". They divided their time between Florida and New Hampshire, where they had built a home years earlier.
Elaine passed away suddenly in November of 1998. She left her husband, five children and six grandchildren, which has now expanded to twelve grandchildren. Her husband Bill resides in New Hampshire. Her oldest daughter Catherine lives in Orange, CT with her husband Guy and two daughters, Isabella 20 and Elaina 7. Son Bill lives in Jamestown, Rhode Island, with his son Jace 19. Amy lives in Cumberland, Rhode Island, with her husband Carl and sons William 11, Luke 9, Gabriel 7 and daughter Elizabeth (Ellie) 2. Peter lives in Narragansett, Rhode Island with his wife Wendi and daughters Sophia 14, Vanessa 12 and Olivia 11. Paul lives in Tucson, Arizona with his wife Melissa, son Walter 8 and daughter Gianna 6. Her sister Maureen Cunningham, who together with her husband Jack, raised three children in Branford-Ellen, Kellie and Patrick, also survive Elaine. Elaine's memory lives on in all of their hearts.