Eliane was born in Cherbourg, France in 1933, not long before World War II broke out in Europe. She treasured the time her mother took her to see Shirly Temple before the war broke out. So much of her life was shaped and colored by the events of the war. When her father, in La Resistance, was sent in a submarine to fight with Charles De Gaul, her mother took her and her little brother, Roger, to Ile Molène, off the coast of Brittany for safety. The small island became occupied by Nazi soldiers, and food became scarce. If she ever forced you to eat something, even if you were not hungry, this is probably why. As an adolescent, she was sent to boarding school on the mainland, where she and her cousins were a constant headache for the nuns. She certainly was not afraid to tell them when she thought they were wrong. Keeping her opinions to herself was something she never really mastered. As a young woman Eliane went to business school and served as a bookkeeper until she met a French sailor. They married and moved to Marseille, where Ghislaine was born. Her father came to her rescue when that marriage did not work out and returned her to Molène, but greater plans laid ahead. Eliane’s father-in-law, Le Pere Chevrel, a French chef was living in New Jersey and encouraged her to come to the United States, so in December of 1959, not knowing much English, she took Ghislaine on a boat across the Atlantic to live in Oaklyn, NJ. Surviving the sea sickness and culture shock, she found a job as a waitress in Philadelphia, where she learned English and became friends with an African-American woman at a time when that was not typical. Later, because Le Pere Chevrel needed a new bar built in his basement, he hired a young wood worker named Jean Loumeau. The rest, they say, is history. Eliane and Jean married in 1963 and bought the house on Mansion Avenue. She took a job at Lampost Cleaners, where she could walk to work, and then Sylvia and Philippe were born. After a few years as a stay-at-home and over-protective mother, she returned to work at Lampost in the evenings, where she got to know all the customers. She also got to know the non-customers, allowing a homeless woman to stay each night until closing time to keep out of the cold. She even brought Diane home one night to eat. Eventually, she added on a second job at McMillan’s Bakery to help Sylvia pay for college and Phil to pay for mechanic school. Donuts were a regular part of household diet. Eliane's favorite job, though, was being a grandmom. She helped to raise Rob, and occasionally picked him up off the floor when he fell out of his crib. She did her share of babysitting with all the grandchildren. Every grandchild and great grandchild was rocked to sleep to the sound of French lullabies, and was fed an array of cookies. When Lampost eventually closed, and the walk to McMillan’s became too much, her job became caring for Jean, which she did with love and devotion until he passed in 2011. Jean called her têtu; stubborn, but he didn’t know what to do without her. She definitely was not going to do something she didn’t want to do. If you ever drove in the car with her, you would know that she didn’t care for that too much. If worry could have kept her alive, she would have lived forever. Eliane was very particular and wanted things done certain ways. To everyone she met, she was sweet, interested in every aspect of their lives (aka nosy), and willing to do whatever she could for them. Mom was a strong, independent, opinionated, woman filled with love for her family. In some of her final words she reminded us that we were her life. She made an impact on people, and our lives are filled with a very big hole now that she is gone.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend her visitation on Thursday, October 15, 10:00 to 11:00 AM at St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish, St. John Church, 809 Park Ave., Collingswood, NJ.  Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 11:00 AM.  Entombment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Eliane's memory to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Way, Memphis, TN 38105 www.stjude.org 

Arrangements by the FOSTER-WARNE FUNERAL HOME, Collingswood and Audubon, NJ.