IN MEMORIAM: Violetta ‘Vi’ Elsey;

Wife Of Former Town Supervisor

SPRINGFIELD – Violetta “Vi” Elsey, 75, spouse of former Springfield Town Supervisor Bill Elsey, passed away peacefully at home Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, with her loving husband by her side.

Born on June 9, 1945, in Germany, Vi’s parents were refugees from Lithuania at the end of World War II and were in a camp in Ingolstadt, Germany, operated by the U.S. Army when Vi was born.  She was 5 years old when her family moved to Connecticut. The following year they moved to Chicago, where Vi grew up.

Vi became a naturalized U.S. citizen when she was 18, in 1964, the same year she began attending college at the University of Illinois, Chicago campus. Bill and Vi met there, and were together since.

Vi received a degree in Medical Records Administration in 1969, and worked as an instructor at the University of Illinois until 1974, when she began work as a medical records supervisor in a hospital suburban Chicago.

When she traveled to California for a professional convention in 1974, she fell in love with the Golden State, and in 1976, Bill and Vi moved to the San Francisco Bay area. Vi worked as a medical transcriptionist from 1977, until the couple moved from California to Florida in 1995.

Before leaving California, Bill and Vi began selling rare and collectible books, a business they continued for more than 25 years. After spending a few years in Florida, they moved to Springfield in 1999.

In recent years, Vi began to work in various arts and crafts including painting, knitting, crocheting and her most recent passion, diamond painting. She was also a charter member of the Springfield Library Book Club. She often gave handmade gifts to her many friends both in Springfield and around the country.

Vi’s life will be celebrated next year on her birthday. Details will be provided next spring.

In addition to Bill, Vi is survived by her three beautiful cats, all of whom are adoptions.
In lieu of flowers, to honor Vi, please consider donations to the Susquehanna SPCA, 4841 State Hwy. 28, Cooperstown, NY 13326, or online at sqspca.org.

Arrangements by Ottman Funeral Home, Cherry Valley.

Visit www.ottmanfuneral home.com to share condolences.