Elinor Lapinski

Elinor “Ellie” Kay Lapinski, age 81, died suddenly at home on August 24, 2021 of natural causes.  She has now joined her beloved husband, Alexander Lapinski II, who succumbed to Covid 19 last year.  Elinor is survived by her four children, Katharine A. Bak of Brattleboro, VT, Amy M. Burrell of Bar Harbor, ME, Theodore J. Burrell of Greenfield, MA and Daniel F. Burrell also of Greenfield, MA.   Additionally, she is survived by five grandchildren, Kayla Interlande of Wells, ME; Abigail Bak Johnson of Erving, MA, Hunter Riddell of Bar Harbor, ME, Heather Riddell, also of Bar Harbor, ME, Joshua Burrell of Hamden, CT and two great grandchildren, Calvin and Jackson Interlande of Wells, ME.  In addition, she survived by her younger brother, David Zabriskie of Kansas, and five nieces, Bonny and Linda, the daughters of her predeceased brother Lyle “Pete” Zabriskie, Laura and Leanne, daughters of her predeceased brother Noel Zabriskie, and Valerie, David’s daughter.

Elinor was born in Sunbury, PA on March 12, 1940 to Lyles and Katharine Zabriskie, she was the third of four children and their only daughter. She spoke fondly of spending most of her summers with her beloved maternal grandparents in Thurmont , MD, where her love and appreciation for gardening,  learning church hymns and caring for small animals were fostered. She was a 1958 graduate of the Maine Township High School in Park Ridge, Illinois.

She attended Saint Augustine College in Chicago, Illinois and then married her first husband, Fred J. Burrell in 1962.   Their four children soon followed…she cherished her children and often would comment that aside from the many years she spent with her husband, Alex, later in her life, her favorite memories were when she was a stay at home mother to her small children in Springfield, MA.  During those years, she continued her education and studied nights and weekends to enter the field of nursing in 1973.  After the family relocated to Amherst, MA, she served as a nurse for 15 years in the mental health field, where she felt the need for compassion and care were the greatest.  She raised her children to value education, and fostered a calling in her daughters to be of compassionate service to others.

In her later years, mom and Alex made several friends in The Elms retirement community in East Longmeadow, MA.  There are too many names to mention, but we are comforted in knowing that along with her eldest daughter, Kayte, mom had friends visiting and helping her routinely, especially while she attended to Alex’s needs for extended care and grieved his eventual passing.  Mom made fast friends wherever she’d go, she was talkative, took pleasure in dressing up, and loved to laugh, even at herself.  She loved all of her grandchildren dearly and took such pride in their accomplishments, whatever they were at any given time.     

A gathering of remembrance and celebration of life will take place on Long Sands Beach in York, Maine on October the 9th   at 3pm ,(weather permitting); as it was a favorite annual family vacation destination. This will be followed by a dinner of sharing and cheer for family and close friends, (please RSVP to either daughter, Kayte or Amy, if you’d like to attend).   In lieu of flowers, and if you are so inclined, contributions will be accepted by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill ( NAMI) in her name.  Thank you to all who touched her life with kindness and compassion.

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