Elaine Faye Hempel

Elaine Faye Hempel, born 8/4/37, died peacefully surrounded by her family on 12/30/2019. Elaine was survived by her daughter, Kathy Cox; son, George Hempel; daughter-in-law, Amy Brashear; son-in-law, John Cox; grandchildren, Edward Eakin, Sydney Eakin, Ashley Eakin, Henry Hempel, and Nicholas Hempel; and sister, Vanessa Burtner, who was her soulmate and best friend. Elaine was also survived by many nieces and nephews whom she cherished greatly. Elaine was preceded in death by her husband, George Hempel; her parents, Tom and Margaret Johnson; her brother, Tom Johnson; her sister, Barbara Holland; brother-in-law, Lloyd Holland; and a very special grand-niece, Heidi Harpster-Weaver. She touched many lives over the years and will be missed greatly.

There are so many adages that can be applied to our mom, grandmother, sister, aunt, friend: she “never met a stranger”, was the “hostess with the mostest”, she would “give the shirt off her back”, and she was the “life of the party” is just the “tip of the iceberg”.

She lived a legacy and she definitely left one. She was born in Beccaria, Pennsylvania, in 1937, a tiny town by all comparisons, yet from it came a brother and three sisters that lived much the same way as Elaine. They lived humbly ,yet loved greatly, and left their marks wherever they lived. Yet, Elaine set her heart on sights beyond this small town. She went to Penn State at the great sacrifice of her brother, Tom, and her parents, which she always remembered in her heart and recalled to us as well as to remind herself. She knew the cost of her going to school, and she honored her parents by her hard work knowing there could not be a failing grade or a retaking of a class. She went on, because of her deep love of and belief in education, to get a masters’ degree at the University of Michigan.

And here is where our lives began through the sweetest love story of a boy and a girl. She met our dad at a mixer she attended with her sister, Vanessa, while our dad was getting his Ph.D. in Ann Arbor. Oh, it was a love story for all time and something we were blessed to witness and model. Even in our dad’s passing, the doctors and nurses spoke to us of their great love as my mom never left his side spending six months sleeping in a hospital to be by her love. And she got one of her deepest desires: to travel the world outside of her small town. Their love was experienced worldwide by all who came in contact with them. Our house was the house that always had a party going as they invited groups of friends from far and wide and conversation and laughter could be heard until the last guest left fully satisfied with a full stomach and a full heart.

Although the world was traveled, she had the deepest love for the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park, Colorado. There also, many came to our cabin after hikes or to celebrate someone’s birthday (or probably for any occasion they could muster just to be together). There was no one who was not a friend. One hike and you were a friend of Elaine’s for life. Estes is special in that way…maybe even a little more so, because of her.

In this life of love, already expressed above, there was another GREAT love in her life: her grandchildren. She was instrumental in the weaving of EVERY ounce of their lives. The “shirt off her back” that she would give turned into the life that she would have given to make sure they were provided for and loved beyond measure. She had nicknames for them all and loved them all equally as much as any human could. One would think that in the heart’s capacity to love, it might explode in the amount of love she showed toward them and received from them. To Edward, Sydney, Henry, Ashley, and Nicholas there was not ever a “no”. Her arms and her heart were always open and accessible to them; the impact on their lives will be the legacy they leave to all who come in contact with them as they continue with her in their hearts.

Our grief cannot be explained. Luckily, it is held by a great God who loves us all. A list of who she impacted would be too exhaustive to write. But, if you are reading this in any form…know YOU are on her list as someone she deeply loved. What a blessing to have known and loved her! So, to honor her: live the legacy-love large with open arms.