Maze! Toy!
Michael, Gail, Samantha and Steve
A Name Carries 0
Irene Elkus
CART WALDMAN
Special to the Jewish News
I
t was the first day of Passover
when Steve and Gail Elkus
were going to find out the sex
of their baby. Steve had an
inclination it was a girl.
"When my mother was alive, she
always held the first seder," said
Steve. "In my mother's house the
tables were set for 30 people, and it
was family galore. Call it coinci-
dence, but my mother must be
around us right now. Passover was
her favorite holiday."
Imagine the delight when the
amniocentesis results showed that
A little girl has big shoes to fill.
the baby was a girl.
Samantha Paige was born two
weeks early on Aug. 7, and is named
in loving memory of Steve's mother
Irene Elkus, who died two and a half
years ago, and Gail's grandmother,
Gertrude Cohen.
"My mother was the glue in our
family," recalls Steve. "She comple-
mented my father in their marriage
of over 40 years, and they were
always excellent role models.
"Looking back, my mother had a
great sense of humor and she was
very athletic. To her, family and
being together was the most impor-
tant part of life. She was generous
with her time and was active in
JARC, Yad Ezra, and the ALYN
Hospital in Israel, a facility that
treats children of all religions. She
was involved in Congregation Beth
Shalom most of her life. She headed
up bingo, gave time to sisterhood,
and was honored by Beth Shalom
for her hard work in all aspects of
the synagogue."
Because of Irene's nature, more
than anything else, Steve and Gail
hope their 2-month-old baby daugh-
ter will mature with traits like these.
When Irene was dying of cancer,
her nieces and nephews traveled
from California and Arizona to
spend her last week with her. All of
these things say how special Irene
was to those she touched
Steve and Gail have b en married
for over a year and live i n
Huntington Woods with Samantha
and Samantha's 17-year old brother
Michael, from Gail's pr evious mar-
riage. Samantha's zayde Phil Elkus,
continues Irene's work by volunteer-
ing daily at her favorit charities.
In memory of Irene , Samantha's
baby naming was held Sept. 25, on
Irene's birthday.
At the ceremony, S teve recited, "I
know you always wan ted to dance
with me at my weddi ng, but today
you are dancing in m y heart.
Samantha is our livin g memory of
you."
10 / 1
1999
Detroit Jewish News
49