Elaine H. Sandmeyer

Elaine H. Sandmeyer, age 92, of Moorestown, NJ, died on June 25, 2025, surrounded by family.  Formerly of Haddonfield and Haddon Heights, NJ and Greenock, PA, she was the loving mother of Ronald P., Jr. (Alice), Rodney (Tracey) and Richelle Sandmeyer Maestro; Treasured grandmother of Paul (Liz), Rebecca (Sheldon Lavis), Lindsay (Kevin Stauffer) and Diana (Eddie Dranoff); step-grandmother of Kathleen Carr (Aaron Miller), Jack Carr (Lizi Rosenfield), and James Carr (Brenda Ni); Cherished great grandmother of R.P. and Harper Sandmeyer, and Tessa and Owen Stauffer; and step-great grandmother of Nina Carr and Frannie Carr Miller.  She was predeceased by her beloved husband of 71 years, Ronald P., and brother Jack Holsing.

Elaine, the daughter of Clyde and Alice Holsing, was born and raised in the small western Pennsylvania town of Greenock.  After graduating from McKeesport High School in 1950, she began working as a bookkeeper.  In September 1953, Elaine married the love of her life, Ronald P. Sandmeyer, whom she was introduced to by a friend at the Erie Zoo.  They began their life together at Washington & Jefferson College, where Elaine worked while Ron started school.  Less than a year later in the summer of 1954, while expecting her first child, Elaine moved to the Philadelphia area where Ron accepted a job with the recently founded Sandmeyer Steel Company.

The saying “behind every great man is a great woman” aptly described the relationship between Elaine and Ron. While Ron was working long hours, Elaine was working just as hard behind the scenes, managing a household which grew to three children.  Elaine’s strong but quiet presence was instrumental in the collective successes they enjoyed during 71 years of marriage.  She truly was “the wind beneath Ron’s wings.”

Elaine enjoyed many sports.  She enjoyed playing golf at Tavistock Country Club in New Jersey and Dorado Beach Golf & Tennis Club in Puerto Rico.  She accomplished the remarkable feat of scoring two holes-in-one at Dorado Beach.  She was an avid football fan and enjoyed watching football every Sunday.  Her family knew not to call her during the games.  She followed college basketball and was always the first to complete her March Madness bracket.  She recently became a Phillies fan as well.

Although she enjoyed a very busy and active life, being with friends and family was Elaine’s most cherished time. Friends and family would use the words kind, caring, strong, dignified, gracious and elegant to describe Elaine.

She was the matriarch of the Sandmeyer family, always intimately familiar with what was going on in the lives of her children, her grandchildren, her great grandchildren and other family members.   Affectionately known to her family as “GG,” she attended all of her children’s and grandchildren’s activities and events and served as a leader of her children’s Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts troops.  She was happiest organizing and hosting holidays and family celebrations, cooking and decorating with style and grace.

Her impact on people’s lives extended beyond her family.  She was equally familiar with what was happening in the lives of her many close friends.  She took great pleasure in sending notes and cards, offering words of gratitude or acknowledging the milestones and life events of everyone she knew.   As she was nearing the end of life, a close friend wrote to her, “You have been a bright light in my life, one of those rare souls who leaves people better than you found them.  Your kindness, your caring, your strength – it’s all etched into who I am now, because of how deeply you’ve impacted me.”

A woman of faith, Elaine was a member for 68 years of the Haddonfield United Methodist Church, where she taught Sunday School classes and Bible school for many years.  She also attended the North Naples Church in Florida.

Elaine’s family will receive friends and relatives on Tuesday, July 8, 9:30 am -10:45 am, in the Sanctuary of the Haddonfield United Methodist Church, 29 Warwick Road, Haddonfield, NJ 08033, where her Memorial Service will follow at 11:00 am.  A live stream may be viewed at www.haddonfieldumc.org.  Interment is private.  In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Elaine may be made to the Church at the above address, designated for the Ronald P. and Elaine H. Sandmeyer Building Preservation Fund (www.haddonfieldumc.org/give) or to the North Naples Church, 6000 Goodlette-Frank Road, Naples, FL 34109.