Racine – Elaine Marie Seidel, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, nurse, sister, aunt, friend and traveler, died of natural causes on Friday April 5th, just 12 days shy of her 93rd birthday.

Elaine was a lifelong resident of Racine. She was born there in 1926, to Victor and Amelia Christoffersen. Elaine attended the Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in Janesville, Wisconsin, graduating as a Registered Nurse in 1947. That was a busy year for her, as she started her nursing career while preparing to marry her sweetheart, Bill Seidel the following year, May 1, 1948. Their long marriage lasted nearly 68 years, until Bill's death in 2016. Together they nurtured and loved four children, Bill (Linda), Diane (Frank Miller), Peggy, and Bob (Bonnie).

For many years, Elaine fulfilled her passion for children and life by working as a delivery room nurse at both St. Luke's and St. Mary's Hospitals. She took great pride in how gracefully she balanced raising her family with long nights at the hospital. She ended her nursing career caring for others at the Racine County High Ridge Care Center.

After retiring, Elaine and Bill hit the open road in their Jayco J RV. Elaine loved playing co-pilot and manning the maps while they cruised south to spend winters in Arizona, Texas, and Florida. In her later years, as her physical mobility decreased, she often recounted the magic of those years. Relaxation in warm climates, the open road, and great spans of time with her husband were some of her most cherished memories.

Elaine's four children and their spouses, six grandchildren and their spouses, and ten great-grandchildren will remember her most as the nexus of the Seidel family social life. She organized and executed epic Christmas parties, birthday celebrations, Easter parties, bike riding parties, and parties for no good reason other than to just be together as a family. She was a cheerleader and celebrator. Chef of exquisite comfort food dishes, cherry jello with bananas and baker of angel food cake of unrivaled delishness, she made sure everyone in her family was well-fed and well-hugged. They always were. This, above all else, is her greatest legacy – the tremendous amounts of herself she shared with those she loved.

A woman of deep faith. Elaine was a dedicated parishioner of St Lucy's Catholic Church. She was frequently seen with a rosary in her hands. Even in her final days, she kept her rosary close, a true and visible testament to her unyielding belief in God.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Bill, her parents Victor and Amelia Christoffersen, brother Chuck Christoffersen, sister Janice Anderson, brother-in-law Glenn Anderson, and son-in-law Dan Schmidt.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Elaine's 93 ^rd birthday – Wednesday , April 17, 2019 at 12:00 noon in St. Lucy Catholic Church, 3101 Drexel Avenue, with Rev. Javier Guativa officiating. A memorial luncheon will follow. Visitation will be in the church on Wednesday from 10:00 am – 12:00 noon. Private interment will take place at Holy Cross Cemetery – Highway 32. Memorials are suggested to Saint Lucy's Catholic Church in Racine or the American Cancer Society.

The family would like to thank the staff at the Home Harbor Assisted Living Community, Lakeshore at Siena and Hospice Alliance for the care and compassion they showed Elaine in her senior years and final days.