Tomaine, Elsie B., Oceanport

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Elsie Tomaine, of Oceanport, died on Thursday, March 30, a few minutes before midnight. She was 95, had mounting health problems and decided it was time to go. Elsie lived her life on her terms and few dared to suggest anything different.

Elsie loved her husband, Merrick; her family; her pets; and her immaculately-kept house and yard. For Elsie, the sun rose and set on Merrick and they were married for over 50 years before he died in 1991.

Elsie was a wonderful cook and hosted countless dinners and picnics for friends and family at their house on Fairfield Avenue, where she was fond of saying folks came for breakfast and stayed for dinner. Their red house with the bright, white trim and fence sat on a tidy lawn with neat flower beds. Merrick used to say how much he loved seeing Elsie work in the yard, where she mowed, trimmed and planted to perfection. Although Elsie seldom traveled far from Long Branch, she created the world she wanted around her.

Elsie was predeceased by her husband, Merrick Tomaine; her daughter, Jeanne Leach; and her nephew, Bernard T. Silkworth. Surviving are her niece, Barbara Silkworth and her husband Charles Blatchley; her nephew, Steven Becker and his wife Maryann; her sister-in-law, Emily Tomaine; her son-in-law, Robert Leach; her grandchildren, Stephanie Dellabarca and David Leach; five great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews from the Becker, Silkworth and Tomaine families.

Woolley-Boglioli Funeral Home, Long Branch, was in charge of arrangements. Memorial donations may be made in Elsie’s name to the Monmouth County SPCA, 260 Wall St, Eatontown, NJ 07724. To share a favorite memory or messages of condolence, please visit Elsie’s Memorial Tribute page at www.woolleyboglioli.com.