Ellamarie Delay O'Callaghan

died early in the morning on Sunday, January 24, 2016, at Martha & Mary long-term care facility, her home away from home for almost four years. She lived 94 years with great love, optimism, grace, kindness, compassion, and a passion for learning and service to others.Ellamarie was the firstborn child of Ella Meehan DeLay and Thomas Ambrose DeLay, in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, September 30, 1921. Tamaqua is a small town in the anthracite coal region of eastern Pennsylvania. A brother, Thomas, who died at two years, and her beloved sister, Rosemary, eight years her junior, followed Ellamarie's birth. They lived at 619 East Broad Street, next to the home inhabited by generations of DeLays. Her father left school in sixth grade to work in the coal mines, later owning a Nash dealership with Ellamarie's uncles, a speakeasy, and a café. Ellamarie's mother was a talented seamstress who made wedding dresses and hats and Ellamarie's fashionable clothes.Ellamarie attended St. Jerome's Catholic School from first through twelfth grades, graduating at 16. She went on to Immaculata College, a women's college in Philadelphia, where she studied home economics. After graduation she went to the University of Pennsylvania, earning her master of science degree in dietetics. Twenty years later she returned to school to pursue a master of library science degree at Villanova University, but a busy family life kept her from completing that journey. Ellamarie remained a lifelong learner, taking a broad variety of classes all her life, and relished the fact that as a senior in Pennsylvania, she could attend any class for free. Her favorite class at Martha & Mary was painting, something she had never done before; she amassed quite a collection of completed works, many astoundingly beautiful. She also loved gardening and flower arranging and was a spelling bee queen.Ellamarie worked as a public health hospital dietician in Baltimore and then Cleveland. She ended that career when she married her love, Judd (Jerome Thomas) O'Callaghan, in 1949. The couple met through Ellamarie's favorite uncle, Frank, not long after she arrived in Cleveland. Judd, one of five children from an Irish Catholic family, had grown up there. When they met, he was working as a sales representative for a tool company. He also played golf and bowled and loved his family. Their first two children, Sally and Tom (Jerome Thomas), were born in Cleveland. The family next moved to northern New Jersey, where John and Bill were born. Before long, they moved to a suburb outside Philadelphia, and, surprise, Daniel was born to 42-year-old Ellamarie. Ellamarie took loving care of her children�her greatest joy�throughout their growing up and continued to help whenever she could, for as long as she could. For several years after Judd retired, Ellamarie worked in an orchid greenhouse and as a census interviewer. Her whole life, even when she was not a paid employee, she worked as a volunteer. She helped start a library in a new school and spent long hours improving local education. She worked as a Democrat for the election board, collected clothes for a homeless shelter, and made hundreds of meals for those in need. Her greatest and longest volunteer job (25 years!) was as a lay pastoral care volunteer for hospitals, a position that required two years of study. She loved helping people find needed services and engaging them in gracious conversation, a mission she pursued all her life.Ellamarie was a voracious reader, primarily works of nonfiction. Stacks of library books were always by her bedside. She had flower and vegetable gardens whenever she could, especially for those great fresh tomatoes. She loved to travel and visited many states and a few countries. A special favorite was her trip with Judd to Ireland. She also loved the ocean beach. The family spent many a summer week or two at the New Jersey or Maryland shore basking in the sun, playing in the surf, and fishing from the docks. As her children had families, she gathered them at the beach, strengthening connections and playing together. All of her children and grandchildren recall these times with great delight and funny stories.At 75 Judd became ill with cancer. For five years, while following his doctor's advice, he went in and out of remission. The great care he received from Ellamarie kept him at home and living a happy, satisfied life surrounded by love. About 10 years ago Ellamarie moved to Bainbridge Island to share a home with her daughter, Sally, and her family. Her five children are scattered across the country: Sally (Charles Schafer) Bainbridge Island; Tom (Marla), Scranton, Pennsylvania; John, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; Bill (Louise Ransom), Oshkosh, Wisconsin; and Dan (Grace), Chalfont, Pennsylvania.Ellamarie has seven grandchildren and four step-grandchildren. Trisha, Jerome, Shawn (d. 2015), Erin, Corey, Kelly, Molly, Paul, Tara, Maria, and Loren live across the United States, along with seven great-grandchildren. Ellamarie also kept her nieces and nephews close to her heart. Dr. Helen Patterson Brandt (of Doylestown, Pennsylvania) was Ellamarie's dear friend since they were small children. Ellamarie's sister-in-law, Margaret Mary Caughlin (in Cleveland), has always been a treasured gift from Ellamarie's marriage to Judd, Margaret's big brother. Rosemary "Susie" DeLay Gratch (of Michigan) was Ellamarie's most treasured kin and dearest friend. A family memorial will be held later in the year.In Ellamarie's honor, please do some small kindness for someone today, and take a moment to share a memory of Ellamarie on this memorial web sight.Mom loved Martha & Mary, and she would rather tributes go to a place that serves others, so please consider a donation to Martha & Mary Activities Program or any caring organization of your choice. Martha & MaryFund Development DepartmentPO Box 127Poulsbo, WA 98370 Please sign the online guest book for the family.