Kathleen Elinski Obituary

I´m so sorry to only now learn of the loss of Kathy. I worked with her at Paramount and she was a great colleague and friend. She was loved by all. Condolences to all her family and friends who loved her too. Virginia

Kathy was my first "little sister". Little did Kevin and I know that my parents, Lynn and Fran, were to bring more sisters and brothers home very soon.

I loved having a "little sis" to care for. Before long, Kathy wanted to be a "big sis" too. I showed her the ropes by teaching her the fun stuff, like changing diapers. She fell in love with her "Irish twin" sister Kris, and then Karyl, Kim and Jackey. Having a baby brother Dennis was icing on the cake!

Kathy was always a joyous kid. She loved to learn, sing, dance and read. Hanging with her Smith, O´Donnell and Elinski cousins during holidays and summers always brought her much excitement. And, she was a real traveler - she made it to Egypt, Turkey, Europe and many places in the U.S.

Traveling to Paris together was one of my favorite memories - seeing her take in the magic of that magnificent city. She told me, while at a Parisienne cafe, that she always imagined a life of hosting "salons" with a circle of interesting people. In many ways, she did just that. We were all glad she counted her siblings among that circle. Ever the gracious hostess, she welcomed all in her warm, charming home. We shared a passion for the songs of Edith Piaf (Le Vie en Rose) and the writings of Simone de Beauvoir, Dorothy Parker and Edith Wharton. And, a love of dance!

Kathy was a true blue sister, loyal and kind to the end. I will miss her always. Adieu, sweet sister, for now.

Kathy was affectionate and always so sweet, cheerful and enthusiastic-oh-and cynical. She had such a passion for so many things, always. Kathy could talk to anyone about anything; she was super friendly, smart and well-read.

She was my guest to a Prince concert at Madison Square Garden. I won tickets for it on the radio. The day before the show, Prince announced that he was doing another concert at a small venue after that show. I was already thrilled I was going to see him and would have been done. But Kathy knew how to live. She talk me into going to the second show, that started about 1:00 in the morning. We were in the very front of the stage for his completely unique show. Had an amazing night with her.

After Our sister Jackey died, we all kind of realized that she was the glue, holding us all together. Well, Kathy was the glitter.

Dearest friend, a light in my life for 46 years. She was always open hearted and generous of spirit. I always felt at ease to be myself. If you were her friend you felt loved, supported, and encouraged. She was a joy.

When I think of Kathy, I think of all things beautiful! She had an inner beauty as well as an outer sense of style. Kathy, with her bright smile, endearing laugh, and fun attitude, left us all too soon. She will be so missed.

When I was growing up, Kathy (7 years older than me) was my "go-to" adult voice, when I needed to talk to someone, about just about anything. She always had the time to talk, always gave her full attention to whatever concerns you might have. She never claimed to have all the answers, but just had the ability to anchor your thoughts...nothing was ever as bad as it seemed, when Kathy was in your corner. As time went on, we lived about 1600 miles from each other. Though we didn't speak as often as we used to, I always had her voice in my head. Just a little over a year ago, there was a lot of upheaval in my life at the time: work was busier than ever, and I had short notice that I had less than a month to move...still overwhelmed by the loss of our sister Jackey. I really felt like the walls were caving in all around me...though I had never experienced it before, I really felt like I was having what I was sure was a "panic attack". I needed to talk to someone... Kathy was my first thought. I sat in my car, on my lunch break from work and called her. Of course, she was in the middle of her own crazy workday. She couldn't talk right that moment, but would call me back ASAP. The return call came about five minutes later. I told her everything that was going on...just going through it with her, made me feel a million times better. It wasn't that she could solve any of my problems, but she just listened. She asked questions. It made me feel like, "okay, you can deal with this" . It meant the world to me, and I told her...I felt so much better, just hearing her voice. When we finished talking, I remember saying something like "thank you so much Kathy for listening, I miss talking to you". She told me "I'm just so flattered that you called me". Beyond just being a great sister, she was a great friend. To me, and to anyone else in her circle. I will miss her so much...

Kathy was my "Irish twin." She was my best friend from the day I was born. When we were little I wanted to marry her. We did everything together. Shared secrets and friends and fun. She was a beautiful person inside and out, one in a million. I will miss her every day. Kathy loved many and was loved by many. She was always able to see the best in situations and in people and loved nothing more than an adventure. Whether she found it in a book or on a trip, she was always up for something new. She worked hard her whole life, but made room for fun. She had the ability to light up a room with her smile. I will miss her every day.
Kris