Elnora (“Ellie”) Mesires, a resident of Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania and former resident of Watertown New York, passed away peacefully on January 27, 2018 after suffering a stroke. Her children, Christina Mesires Fournaris and George Mesires, were by her side at the time of her passing.
Ellie was born on January 13, 1938. She attended the University of Buffalo Nursing School where she met her husband, Robert G. Mesires (“Bob”), a student at the University of Buffalo Dental School. They moved to Watertown where they raised their children. Ellie was a committed volunteer in the Watertown community and was one of the first women to serve on the Board of Trustees of the House of the Good Samaritan Hospital.
She returned to nursing and worked for many years at the hospital where she had previously served on the Board. Ellie and her family spent the summers at their home on the St. Lawrence River near Alexandria Bay, New York in the Thousand Islands.
Following the death of her husband Bob in 2015, Ellie moved to Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, where her daughter, Christina and her family reside. She learned to love the Chestnut Hill community and was an active participant at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
Ellie will be lovingly remembered for her devotion to her husband, children and grandchildren; her commitment to nursing; her love of tennis, cooking, flowers and birds; and her warm, outgoing and positive demeanor. In addition to her children, Ellie is survived by her son-in-law, Constantine (“Dean”) Fournaris and their children, Thomas and Helena; her daughter-in-law, Stuart Dyer, and their son, Xander; her sister-in-law, Maria Kaltsounis; her brother-in-law, Tony Mesires and his wife, Mary; and numerous nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held this summer in the Thousand Islands. Contributions in Ellie’s memory may be made to Northern New York Community Foundation, Inc. c/o the Robert and Elnora Mesires Community Fund, 131 Washington Street Watertown, NY 13601 (https://www.nnycf.org/) or to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 22 East Chestnut Hill Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19118 (http://stpaulschestnuthill.org/).
