Elaine F. Collison, loved the arts

Elaine F. Collison, 86, of Lewes, formerly of Wilmington, died Saturday, May 31, 2014.

Mrs. Collison was born in Haddonfield, N.J., Oct. 2, 1927, to the late Louis and Evelyn Gabriel of Lewes. She graduated from Moore institute of Art in Philadelphia with a degree in fine arts. She and her husband of 49 years, Clarence, who died in 1999, shared most of their lives in Wilmington. Elaine was a member of Trinity Presbyterian Church and the Order of the Eastern Star. She was a general lover of the arts and enjoyed painting with oils and watercolors in particular. She made many lasting and cherished memories spending time with family and friends at both their beach cottage in Lewes as well as their mountain cabin in Mifflintown, Pa.

Elaine adorned the lives of those she loved with her innate creativity and inventiveness. Those who knew and loved her, though temporarily diminished by her passing, are forever enriched by her having lived. Mrs. Collison is survived by two daughters, Amy Cousins and her husband Andrew of Camden and Patricia Lofland and her husband Gary of Rehoboth; four grandchildren, Kelly Riley-Newcomb, Amy Beth Jefferson, Jarrod Clark Cousins and Cameron Lloyd Schafer. She is also survived by six great-grandchildren, Brittany and Logan Riley, Theodore, Cyle and Taylor Jefferson and Jack Cousins; and two great-great-grandchildren, Jaiden Scarlett and Jonah Willey.

Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family suggest that memorial contributions be made in her name to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, 100 West 10th St., Suite 209, Wilmington DE 19801.