Elaine Vellis

Elaine Vellis, 89, of Pompton Plains and a former longtime resident of Fairfield, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, November 23, 2022.

Elaine was born and raised in Clifton. Her maternal grandparents also lived with her as she was growing up, so she was able to benefit from their love and knowledge as well. She learned to speak fluent Italian, and she learned to cook from her grandfather Longo, who was a chef in Italy before emigrating to the U.S.A. This not only developed in her a life-long love of cooking but also helped her to become an excellent cook in her own right, making such family favorites as arancinis, meatballs with wine gravy, or a delicious pot of sauce.

After graduating from high school, she worked for New Jersey Bell as a telephone operator followed by a job with General Electric. She married in 1957, and they moved to Fairfield in 1961. They had two daughters, Margo and Karen, and Elaine stepped into her new role as a wonderful and loving full-time mom.

Elaine was a woman of various interests and talents. As a young woman, she was a dance instructor at the Charlie Shaw Studio of Dancing, and she competed in and won various dance competitions. Later, she developed a talent for poetry into a business writing personalized poetry for special occasions. At various times, she also enjoyed racquetball, needlepoint, crocheting, and knitting and loved ones were often the fortunate recipients of the fruits of her loving labors.

In 1981, Elaine returned to the workplace, this time with BOBST, North America in Roseland where she worked for over 25 years in marketing and then in their parts department. When presented with an opportunity to visit Italy with a friend from Bobst, she jumped at it and felt blessed to witness, firsthand, the sights and culture of her grandparents and ancestors. She talked about it for years afterwards as the trip of a lifetime. Just prior to retirement from BOBST and after over 40 years in her Fairfield home, Elaine moved to Cedar Crest Village. It didn’t take long for her to get involved in various activities offered at Cedar Crest and to establish some great friendships, and she especially enjoyed getting together with friends after dinner to play cards.

Above all else, Elaine cherished her family. Times spent with them made for the best of times and the greatest of memories. Whether it was taking trips to Disney with Margo and her husband Rudy and their boys, or just getting together for a night of board games with her daughters and grandsons, the most important part was being together. She loved the holidays, especially Christmas, and the joy of giving to others.

Elaine was a special woman. When asked what they will miss the most about her, her family quickly named many of the simplest but most important things: her giving, loving, and caring nature, her wit, her kindness, interesting conversations, lots of laughs, the way she made the holidays so special, and of course, her delicious cooking.

Elaine was the loving mother of: Margo and husband Rudy Garbely of Pompton Plains, and Karen and husband Patrick Mullen of Wayne, and cherished grandmother of her five grandsons: Rudy Garbely and wife Carolyn Hoffman of Dingman’s Ferry, PA, Kyle and wife Lindsay Garbely of Hickory, NC, Brendan Mullen of Charlottesville, VA, Michael Mullen of Glassboro, NJ, and Luke Mullen of Wayne, NJ.

In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Elaine’s name are asked to consider:

American Heart Association

PO Box 840692

Dallas, TX 75284-0692

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