ELAINE M. (EBRIGHT) DAMSCHRODER

June 17, 1939 – August 14, 2026

Elaine was love in action. Love was a verb for her. Her words were the acts of love encoded in the sounds of knitting, the smells of baking, the joy of giving, the delight in savoring the family from which she and her family sprang, feeling the heat of the sun while gardening, anticipating the tastes of the veggies that she grew and shared, the whirring of the sewing machine as she made her kids clothes, bedspreads and curtains, the soft words of the prayers she taught her children to say at bedtime, the feelings of satisfaction in following the commands of Jesus to help others and cocoon them in loving warmth, the whiff of the children and infants she cherished in her home over the years and cared for in the church nursery. The 19th century mantle clock from her husband’s parents that she preserved all those years and that Sally had very carefully and meticulously restored, the grand champion sponge cake from Granny Sprunk, the bride and groom topping from her wedding cake are visible reminders of her intimate connection with generation to generation love that is beyond words and needs them not.

She has now joined her husband, Richard Sr., her son, Richard Jr., her parents Frank L. and Erma (Metzger) Ebright, and six of her siblings, Henrietta Jerndt, Frank H. Ebright, Galen Ebright, Duane Ebright, Carol Starkloff and Lloyd Ebright, in the place God has prepared for faithful servants and lovers of others in a paradise without pain or suffering.

Elaine was a cherished, loving, compassionate, patient wife, mother, homemaker and faithful friend of Jesus. Besides her generosity with her time and skills in knitting baby caps, blankets and lap robes for 33 years as a volunteer at Riverside Hospital and then St. Vincent, she served as a Girl Scout leader and could be counted on for savory pies, Christmas cookies and her granny’s champion sponge cake for church bake sales.

Her self taught gardening skills created many other occasions to share the abundance that her determination and knack coaxed from the earth with neighbors, friends and fellow church goers. The power of her resolute loving example can be seen in the ways in which Sally, who does not really like vegetables, would join in with her in gardening.

Grieving her absence and praying to carry on with their own deeds—not just words—of loving each other and God’s creation are her daughter, Sally Damschroder, siblings Kathrine Everhardt, Norma Corbin, Karl (Karen) Ebright, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held at Walter Funeral Home, 4653 Glendale Ave Toledo, Ohio on Wednesday, September 2, 2026 at 10am followed by a memorial service at 12pm. Burial will follow in Ottawa Hills Memorial Park.

Memorial contributions are suggested to be made to Ohioans Home Health Care and Hospice on their website: ohioanshhc.com/hospicecare/ click donate to hospice under the hospice care tab - or mail to: Ohioans Home Health Care and Hospice at 28276 Kensington Ln., Perrysburg, OH 43551 please designate hospice or to American Cancer Society.