Obituary of Grace L. McElwee
In loving memory of Grace L. McElwee, wife of the Reverend Dr. Andrew A. McElwee, Sr., deceased, who died on September 3, 2020, in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.
Grace was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 1, 1926, to Mary and Kenneth Lloyd. During World War II, immediately upon her graduation from Upper Darby High School, the defense industry utilized her as a draftswoman for top secret radar components. She met her future husband, Andrew, at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, and they married in 1947 when her husband was attending Princeton Theological Seminary. Her career as the wife of a Presbyterian minister followed, serving first the Faggs Manor Presbyterian Church in Chester County, Pennsylvania, then the First Presbyterian Church of Rockaway, New Jersey, and finally, the First Presbyterian Church at Caldwell, New Jersey.
Grace was well-read and erudite, and she used her talents as the leader of many women's groups within the Presbyterian Church. She excelled at whatever she chose to excel in: Bible studies, Egyptian studies, painting, playing the cello, gardening and bee keeping, to name just a few. She received particular joy and satisfaction as the founder of the nonprofit S.E.R.R.V. shop at the First Presbyterian Church at Caldwell, which operated as an early vital sales outlet for impoverished third-world craftsmen.
Grace is survived by her three children, Meredith Betz, Andrew McElwee, Jr., and Kenneth McElwee, as well as by her six grandchildren, Erin Betz, Christian Betz, Alexandra McElwee, Andrew McElwee, III, Kaitlyn McElwee and Kenneth McElwee, Jr. Also surviving is her great granddaughter Jane Duchinsky.
Arrangements in care of the Codey & Jones Funeral Home of Caldwell, please visit www.codeyjonesfh.com and share some words of Grace with family. A memorial service will be held upon the conclusion of the current pandemic.
Memorial contributions in memory of Grace to the New England Center and Home for Veterans, 17 Court Street, Boston, MA 02108, (617) 371-18006, https://www.nechv.org/ would be deeply appreciated.