Elinore Beresford

Jaycox-Jaworski Funeral Home & Crematory

Obituaries | The Tube City Almanac | April 06, 2023

Elinore Beresford, 94, of North Huntingdon, formerly of White Oak, died Thursday, March 30, 2023, at Redstone Highlands. Born June 25, 1928, she was the daughter of the late George and Alberta (Papke) Volk, and the widow of the late C. Edwin Beresford.

She was a graduate of Grove City College and was a member of the Grove City College Women's Club. Elinore was a dedicated and caring teacher for many years, beginning in White Oak where she taught sixth, seventh and eighthth grade history, leaving there for Bethel Park and teaching the core curriculum for several years. Marrying in 1957, she and her husband built a home in North Huntingdon and found the commute to Bethel Park to be too far. She was hired into the Gateway School District, where she taught German in the junior high school and then moved to Gateway High School, where she taught civics. After more than 30 years, she retired from her teaching career. Elinore was a devoted and faithful member of the Evangelical Congregational Church in McKeesport, which was a large part of her life. She served as financial secretary and as a member of the church council. She sang in the choir, was a member of the F.A.I.T.H. Class and participated in every activity of the church. She was also a loyal volunteer at McKeesport Meals on Wheels for many years. Elinore loved to travel with family and friends. Her trips consisted of most of the United States including Alaska and Hawaii, Canada, Mexico, most of Europe, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. She would show her many slides to family, church groups and other organizations. She also enjoyed many yearly trips to the beach with her family. Elinore had many interests. She was a voracious reader and liked her crime shows on TV. She was a talented knitter and made countless exquisite counted cross stitch pictures, including a tree skirt portraying the Nativity. She also used her sewing skills to complete the hundreds of clown dolls that the F.A.I.T.H. Class made over the years. She was an excellent Bridge player and played with a group in the McKeesport College Club for more than 50 years. She never missed a game of her Pittsburgh Pirates, Penguins and Steelers. She was an excellent cook, hosting many Thanksgivings and birthdays and making her delicious German dinner at Christmas. Her door was always open for others to join the family. Elinore truly enjoyed people. She had many friends and was wonderful about keeping in touch, even with former students. She loved her family and doted on her nephews and nieces and their children, wanting to see them as much as possible. She loved animals, especially the family's Labs and German Shepherd and they loved her in return. She took in a cat which needed a home, and that cat had the best ten years of its life.

Elinore is survived by her sister, Carolyn Volk Thomson; nephews, Eric (Cheryl) Thomson, of Greensburg, and David Volk, of Kentfield, Calif.; nieces, Ann (Mark)Tanis, of Apollo, and Heidi (Steve) Stimple, of Lafayette, Calif.

In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her brother, George Volk, and sister, Alberta Volk Feightner. 

A celebration of life service will be held Sunday, April 16, 2023, in Evangelical Congregational Church, 312 Olive Street (corner of Olive and Walnut St.), McKeesport, PA 15132. There will be a brunch at the church at 12:30 p.m., to which all are invited. A service will follow at 2 p.m. Arrangements were entrusted to Jaycox-Jaworski Funeral Home & Crematory. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to McKeesport Area Meals On Wheels, 1406 Cornell St., McKeesport, PA 15132, or Grove City College Alumni Association, Grove City College, 100 Campus Drive, Grove City, PA 16127. Condolences and memories may be shared at www.jaycox-jaworskifh.com.

Originally published April 06, 2023.

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