HALEY, ELSIE ELIZABETH

HALEY, ELSIE ELIZABETH (nee Herbert), 1918-2016, age 98, died peacefully on July 23rd, 2016. Designer of Afghan blankets, Fan of the daytime drama, and Lover of all things crafty, Church pot-lucks, Happy Pappy and all his children. She was born and raised in Absecon, New Jersey to Pearl and Edgar Herbert along with three siblings. She married Joel Armstrong Haley and raised three children, Paul, John, and Ruth Haley (Heidman). Their marriage was a love affair lasted for over sixty-five years. Elsie and Joel owned Haley’s Dairy in Richwood, NJ. They retired to Fort Myers, Florida and traveled between New Jersey and Florida for many years. She has loved and nurtured her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, step-grandchildren, neighbor’s children, church children, her children’s friends, all of their spouses, friends and lovers, and eventually her great, great granddaughter. She instilled in her family a love of crosswords and an appreciation for nature. She was a terrible cook and one of the few people on earth who could ruin pasta. Still, Elsie was the ultimate caregiver who provided love, support, and structure to so many. She was the first person to tell you how proud she was of you for learning to ride a bike and quick to tell you that the brussel sprouts you made for Thanksgiving were awful. During all of her years on this earth she dedicated her time and attention to her husband, her children and her church. She was the one person in the family who would school you on the difference between a need and a want and then quick take care of your needs. She will be greatly missed by all of her family members who benefited greatly from having Nanny in their lives for so long. She was a woman of determination and grit. She out lived breast cancer, her knees, appendix, gallbladder, her teeth and several other body parts yet her hair was groomed perfectly until her last day. If she had the choice she would surely have crossed out half of this obit deeming it impractical despite the fact that she saved every funeral card and obit from the people she loved who passed before her. During her lifetime women were given the right to vote, King Tut’s Tomb was discovered, the Empire State Building and Disney Land opened, The Great Depression came and went, and color television was invented. She was born during WWI and died during a time of horrific civilian unrest, never being granted the world peace she prayed for. (As I write this, I am sure that she is sending our love to Pop-pop and watching him tend his garden.) Services will be private.