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Elaine A. Abruzzo, nurse, fund-raiser


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Elaine A. Abruzzo, nurse, fund-raiser

By Sally A. Downey

Inquirer Staff Writer

Elaine Alpisa Abruzzo, 76, of Rosemont, a nurse and mother of eight who helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for patient-care services at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, died of lung cancer Sunday at her home.

Since the late 1970s, Mrs. Abruzzo had served on the women's board of the hospital, and was its president from 2002 to 2004. She was an active member of the board's Martha Jefferson Committee, which raises funds for patients' nonmedical needs. These include paying for household bills when a family breadwinner is hospitalized, purchasing wigs for chemotherapy patients, and buying cribs for babies for families with limited incomes.

Mrs. Abruzzo cochaired the committee-sponsored Jefferson Ball for several years in the late 1990s. For the last 15 years, she cochaired the twice-yearly jewelry sale in the hospital's atrium. She kept "meticulous records" of the sales of the sterling silver and 14-karat gold jewelry, said the event's cochair, Rosemary McNulty.

"She was a dynamic person. I will miss her," said McNulty, a friend of more than 30 years.

Mrs. Abruzzo also volunteered at the Penny Wise Thrift Shop in Ardmore. The women's board operates the shop.

A native of Paterson, N.J., she graduated from St. Joseph's Hospital School of Nursing there. She was on the hospital staff for two years and then became head nurse at Jersey City Medical Center, where John L. Abruzzo was an intern. They married in 1958.

In 1966, she and her husband, a rheumatologist, moved to Rosemont when he joined the faculty of Jefferson Medical College.

While raising a family, Mrs. Abruzzo volunteered as a nurse at Ithan Elementary School. She was past president of the Band Parents Association of Radnor High School.

She and her husband traveled abroad after their children were grown and, in recent years, enjoyed summer vacations with their grandchildren on Long Beach Island.

In addition to her husband, Mrs. Abruzzo is survived by daughters Jeanne DeSantis and Maria Pickering; sons John, Mark, Thomas, Christopher, Michael, and Luke; a sister; and 20 grandchildren.

Friends may call from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday and 8:30 to 9:45 a.m. Saturday at D'Anjolell Memorial Home, 2811 West Chester Pike, Broomall. A Funeral Mass will be said at St. Thomas of Villanova Church on the Villanova University campus. Mrs. Abruzzo served on the parish council and for 20 years found joy singing at Sunday Mass and at the Christmas Midnight and Easter Vigil Masses, her family said.

Memorial donations may be made to Women's Board of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 935 Chestnut St., Suite 110, Philadelphia 19107 or to St. Thomas of Villanova Music Ministry, 1229 West Lancaster Ave., Rosemont, Pa. 19010.

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