Elaine G Marans
Our kind and beloved Elaine Marans left this planet peacefully on the wings of angels on October 31, 2016. Her spirit is now free and at peace.
This vibrant, feisty, independent, thoughtful, caring, loving woman valiantly battled an aggressive cancer for three years. She was a very young 60 years old when she met her angels at her Seattle home. She will be dearly missed by her caring relatives and numerous friends.
Elaine loved people and loved to flash her infectious smile. She was playful and full of vitality. She loved James Taylor, the Carpenters, and many musical artists of the 1960s. She was an avid fan of KCTS 9. She was passionate about tennis, hiking, walking, exploring nature, hosting get-togethers, garage sales, and engaging in good conversations. She loved to laugh and caress you when you felt down and lonely. She took care of people; she listened and helped them feel good about themselves. And if you gave her a gift, she would always acknowledge that act of kindness with a hand-written “thank you” note.
Elaine was born in New Hartford, New York on August 14, 1956. She attended different colleges throughout her life – University of Vermont (Recreational Therapy), Cornell, State University of New York at Oneonta – finally earning a Master’s Degree in Healthcare Administration at the University of Washington. She was passionate about health care administration for many years before she pursued semi-retirement, preferring to spend more time gardening, exercising, visiting with friends, decorating the home, and numerous other activities that gave her self-fulfillment and relaxation.
She is preceded in death by her father, Gordon Marans, her mother, Lois Marans, and her older brother Doug Shantam Marans. She is survived by her younger brother Vimal Bob Marans, her half-brother David Marans, and her loving and dedicated partner, Mark Medoff, of thirteen years.
We want to thank Providence Hospice for helping Elaine find comfort and peace during her final, challenging weeks of life.
In memory of Elaine, it is suggested that donations be made to your favorite charities and fund raisers. A “Celebration of Life” will be announced.
12 Responses to “Elaine G Marans”
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Elaine, I miss with all my heart. I was so very blessed to have you in my life. I know you will always be watching over us all as you always did. I’ll miss our chats, our walks, listening to live music and hanging out on the back deck. Rest easy dear friend till we meet again. Love and hugs, Debbie
My belated brother,Bruce Michael Schwartz, and I were lucky to have been recipients of Elaine’s marvelous caring and and uplifting personality. She drew people to her herself with her magical laugh and thoughtful actions. I feel honored and special to have been part of her life even for a short while.She and Mark shared and indellible bond which was sweet to watch. She will be deeply missed. I will cherish those lovely memories of her.
Elaine walked with me the most difficult time of my life when her brother (Doug Shantam)and I were looking for a diagnosis to his illness. She was a real sister, a friend, and advocate for both of us. She is our Angel now. I learned with you to be kind no matter what. Love, Light, Peace, Ursula
It was an honor and joy to get to know Elaine, as an unapologetic fighter against her own cancer and in the bigger picture, as a feisty, bright woman who lived her life with forthright inquisitiveness and intense compassion for others. She is a brilliant star who will continue to shine very brightly and sweetly in my heart.
Elaine,
I still remember the first time I saw you. It was at synagogue in Tacoma I the early 80s. I wish I had gotten to know you better. But I was grateful to reconnect at the gym last year. Even with all you were going through with your cancer you always had an uplifting message for me if I was too hard on myself or didn’t give myself enough credit for doing what I had to do living with fibromyalgia. You were truly a wonderful person. I’m glad that you are now out of pain. I will greatly miss your terrific spirit.
Love,
Lynn
For Elaine,
Her amazing presence of mind and always upbeat tone whenever she left a message on our phone recorder. Even with the battle raging. She wanted news about our health and other events whenever we talked. Always truly interested. Her remarks so complimentary and attitude so engaging and she seemed to hang on our every word. I Darrell, felt empowered and somehow more intelligent around this gal. Elaine thought that I was funny. We were free to speak our mind and sometimes wryly which Elaine loved. She never looked away from you, she noticed everything, and always acted as if she were amazed by my very presence. I, we, will never forget this woman.
Three years ago we spent a wonderful day with Elaine and Mark and our very good friends Debbie and Don, exploring Volunteer Park, and then walking around capitol hill neighborhood just before Halloween. Elaine loved Halloween. That was the last time we saw Elaine. We spoke by phone many times since and tried to get together but events hampered our efforts.
We want to thank our friends Debbie and Don for introducing us to Elaine and Mark. There are those rare soles who get to your heart forever.
Darrell & Carolyn
I would like to express my condolences to the family and friends of Elaine Marans. The loss of a loved one is never easy. But our loving Creator will one day do away with deaths and mourning. May you find comfort from those words.
Elaine lived on the same street I do. One of my first memories of her some 15 or more years ago was setting out to do a clean-up walk–she would pick up things people had thrown and that defaced the neighborhood. That was so like her–to care for people and the environment around her. I’m so sorry she had to suffer so. May she rest in peace, and may Mark find peace too.
I only learned tonight of Elaine’s passing. She was always a vibrant and loving woman who could light up a room. Her great presence will be missed by many.
I only just learnt of Elaine’s passing from a mutual friend from our high school days. I had been very glad to reconnect briefly with Elaine when I began to visit the Pacific NW area after my parents retired there — we spent a sunlit afternoon by the water sharing laughter and thoughts serious, humorous and in between. She brought intense energy to that conversation and, I imagine, to much of her life. I am so sorry to hear of such a difficult illness and send love and sincere condolences to her family and friends, from Brussels.
We connected with Elaine and Mark through a mutual friend, Bruce. We would run into each other at GreenLake where we would talk and share stories. Elaine was a great listener, and she made you feel that what you said to her was the most interesting thing to her at that time. On our walk around GreenLake today we saw Mark, and he told us of Elaine’s passing. It just reminded me that we need to tell those around us every day, in every way, their importance in our lives.
Elaine was my very dear, lifelong best friend. I still cannot believe that she will no longer answer the phone, as she always did, nor be there to guide me. She had a vivacious, loving personality.
Elaine was very much in love with Mark and said he was exceptional to her in every way. She spoke glowingly about him, and his extremely attentive care, especially since she fell ill in 2014.
She held a special place in her heart for Jeff, too, saying, “He is someone I will always love.”
She fondly remembered her friends from her school days and was disappointed that she could not attend her High School reunion due to illness.
Below are a few excerpts from the tribute I delivered at her Celebration of Life, nearly a year after she passed.
Elaine supported me wholeheartedly since I first met her as a child. We helped one another and had a blast along the way. From a very young age, she forged her own path and I was the luckiest person ever to be her friend. I got the better part of the deal by far.
Elaine loved people, she was well-mannered, and she was a giver extraordinaire. She loved to give and she was excellent at it because she paid attention to what people enjoyed.
She used every step of the stairs to the second floor of her home to corral many bags and boxes of gifts for her friends. She would send me enormous packages of items, lovely selected, that ran the gamut from books and toys to beautiful clothing and inspiring art. It sometimes took me a week to open all of them!
We each had a collection of colorful cards and letters from one another that spanned the years from the ’70s on — recounting jobs lost and found, romances blooming and fading, tales of new-found friends, happy stories of trips taken, and always, her love of nature and being active.
Elaine didn’t just emote, she exulted…and she wrote the way she lived! Superlatives abounded… every letter she wrote exuded an energy that makes me delighted just thinking of her.
Our dear friend, Elaine, made me feel cherished. Most of all, I felt at home with her.
Bless all of you who love her, too.