Elaine Mosbrook

A longtime friend called her "Loretta Sunshine" for her almost constant positive attitude even as she battled slowly-crippling ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) which took her life July 28 at the Hospice of the Western Reserve. She was 78.
Elaine G. Mosbrook of Cleveland Heights was born August 23, 1937 in Rockville Centre, NY, the second daughter of Walter H. and Jessie F. Gibson. After graduating from Southside High School in Rockville Centre, she went to Centenary College of New Jersey. In college, she met her future husband, Joe Mosbrook, a student at nearby Lafayette College. Before they were married in 1960, she worked for Merrill-Lynch in New York City.
While he worked in radio and television, they lived in Easton, PA.; Philadelphia, PA; Wilmington, DE.; and moved to Cleveland in 1967. In Cleveland Heights they raised four children - Nancy Gecking (husband-Keith) of North Ridgeville, Joseph W. Mosbrook (fiancé-Meegan McGee) of Cleveland Heights, Charlie Mosbrook (fiancé-Annie Miano) of Cleveland Heights, and Susan Mosbrook of Grayslake, IL. While raising their children, Elaine was very active in various volunteer groups, including organizing and running nursery schools, serving as a Girl Scout leader, and as president of the Cleveland Heights High School Parent Teachers Association.
When their children were old enough, Elaine returned to work as assistant to the dean of faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Art and later as a legal secretary at the Ulmer & Berne law firm.
She was a very active choral singer and performed with choirs at Plymouth Church of Shaker Heights and Fairmount Presbyterian Church of Cleveland Heights, as well as with a variety of other choirs including the University Circle Chorale and the Western Reserve Chorale.
She served in a variety of leadership roles at both Plymouth and Fairmount Churches, was a very active Stephen Minister, and a hospice volunteer.
For recreation she enjoyed reading, listening to music, gardening, sailing, and playing golf. She was a member of the Lakeside Yacht Club of Cleveland and the Eagles Mere Country Club in Pennsylvania.
In addition to her husband and four children, she is survived by her sister, Margaret Clark (husband-Raymond) of Surprise, AZ; and three grandchildren: Morgan Gecking of North Ridgeville, Sarah Prendergast of Grayslake, IL, and Jacob Stiles of Fairmont, WV.
There will be a Memorial Service Saturday August 20 at 1:00 P.M. at Fairmount Presbyterian Church, 2757 Fairmount Boulevard, Cleveland Heights. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that "Loretta Sunshine" be remembered with donations to the ALS Association Northern Ohio Chapter, 6155 Rockside Road, Independence, OH 44131, www.webnoh.alsa.org or The Memorial Fund of Fairmount Presbyterian Church, 2757 Fairmount Boulevard, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118.