Elaine L. Grandy
Elaine Leora Grandy died on Sunday December 1st, 2024 following a fire at her home. She was 82 years old.
Elaine was born on April 21, 1942 and grew up in Johnstown, New York. Some of her happiest times were spent with family at their "camp" on Sacandaga Lake. Her formal education was at Columbia and New School for Social Research. Elaine worked for Kodak in Rochester and New York City. She lived in Manhattan for a decade and Woodstock for several years before she and her former spouse Arthur Rashap moved to Roxbury in 1978. There, they raised their son Raven Grandy-Rashap, and she began working as a licensed massage therapist. She continued to practice up until her death. Elaine lived briefly in South Carolina and New Mexico in the 1990s before returning to settle permanently at Laurel Lake in Andes.
Working intuitively, and without any formal education in the arts, she was an artist working in collage of watercolors, photographs, and found items. She exhibited her work in both stand-alone and group exhibitions as a member of the "Creative Crones" and the Longyear Gallery. Deeply loyal to the local community, Elaine was engaged in a variety of organizations including the Roxbury Arts Group and the Mark Project.
Elaine loved walking in the forests and fields around Laurel Lake where she lived for more than 30 years. Elaine would often kick off the swimming season on her birthday on the 21st of April with what she described as a "delicious" dip in the cool spring water. She shared many wonderful years at the lake with her life-partner Edmund Millar before he died in November of 2015.
Elaine brought grace and art to every part of her life. She often made and sent one-of-a-kind cards and playful works of art to her family in Sweden. A self-described foodie, she loved curating the perfect meal, and would often start planning excitedly for dinner shortly after breakfast. She lived by the motto of her "Don't postpone joy" bumper-sticker that adorned her various cars over the years. Her loving smile, kind eyes, sharp wit, creative energy, and enormous capacity for caring for others will be dearly missed by family and friends.
Elaine is survived by her son Raven, his wife Linda, and grandchildren Eva and Linnea; her previous husband Arthur Rashap and his daughter Kersten Vigus; Her nephews Brian and Jeffery Cook and their families; her "sister-in-law" Maureen Millar and a close-knit group of friends that were very dear to her.
She is predeceased in death by her parents Leora and Willard Grandy, her sister Laraine Cook, as well as her beloved Edmund Millar.
A gathering in celebration of Elaine's life will be held at the Roxbury Arts Group in Roxbury at noon on Monday, December 9th.
In lieu of flowers, and in the spirit of Elaine's strong sense of local loyalty, please support local artists and farmers markets.