Elaine A. Turoski

Elaine Turoski passed away peacefully at St. Peter's Hospice on November 15, 2023 surrounded by her loving family. She was born in Syracuse, NY in 1940 to the late John and Irene (Hliwa) Pogorzelski.

Elaine and her husband, the late Lt. Col. Richard Turoski served their country as a United State Air Force military family. As her husband received different assignments, the family moved to many Air Bases around the United States – Indiana, New Mexico, California, North Dakota, Niagara Falls, New York and Louisiana and then finally setting roots down in New York State.

Elaine and her children moved to Syracuse, New York in 1978 and she and her daughter relocated to the Capital District in 1992 where they called home. Three of her children are in the Capital District and Elaine resided at the Summit at Eastwyk in North Greenbush with her daughter Diane.

While living in Louisiana, Elaine enjoyed taking her kids on cross country trips in the station wagon to see her parents in Michigan and then Kentucky. She also traveled with them to the Grand Canyon and most recently enjoyed family trips to St. Marteens and Ogunquit, Maine. She loved camping with her kids, especially at Cross Lake, Lake of the Woods, MN and Brown Tract Pond in the Adirondacks. While living in Central New York, Elaine also loved spending time on her boat on Oneida Lake and often cruised the Seneca River to Baldwinsville. Elaine had the opportunity to visit her husband while he was deployed three times in Vietnam and traveled Southeast Asia for six weeks.

Elaine loved spending time with her family, and she had a huge heart and cared for others. She was an executive secretary at Chrysler. She worked in a hospital in Indiana and finished her career as a Certified Nurse Aide at Hallmark Nursing Home in South Troy. In the 1970's with her husband deployed overseas, Elaine received special consideration to accept foster children that were removed from dangerous situations to be placed in her home. Over the course of this work, Elaine took in 17 children at various times to help them transition to a better environment. She also had strong faith and in her later years enjoyed watching Sunday Mass on TV.

Additionally, Elaine was an entrepreneur and she and her husband owned 10 apartments which would later be converted into a safe shelter for women that suffered from domestic violence run by the YWCA of Shreveport, Louisiana. They also owned and operated a Bressler's 33 Flavors Ice Cream shop at the Mall St Vincent in Shreveport where she was awarded Bresler's College of Ice Cream certification in retail ice cream management. She was also very artistic. Her cake decorating skills won many competitions which she passed down to her children and grandchildren over the years and she was also good at making ceramics.

Elaine had a knack for growing plants and gardens that made everyone green with envy. She won the "Green Thumb Award" at every Air Base the family was stationed. Elaine was a fanatic of Syracuse Orange basketball and football. She never missed a game and enjoyed discussing the outcomes, good or bad, with her family and others.

Without her daughter's knowledge, Elaine signed up her grandson Joseph at Pia's Tae Kwan Do when he was eight years old. Because of this decision, he is now a 4th Degree Black Belt and Master, a and her great-grandchildren are also excelling at Tae Kwan Do. Elaine took great pride in the athletic accomplishments of all her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was also extremely proud of their success in the classroom and their academic accomplishments.

Elaine is survived by her four children, Diane Turoski and her son Joseph (Nicole); Richard (Cynthia) Turoski and their children: Victoria, Alexandra and Richard III; Ann (Jack) Corrao and their children: Amanda and Sara; and John (Margaret) and their children: John, Jr. and Michael. She had five great-grandchildren, Joseph, Jr., Sophia, Noah, Abraham and Ellie-Grace. She is also survived by her sister Diana VanNess, and two brothers, John Paul Pogorzelski and Gary Pogorzelski, and a couple uncles, several cousins, and nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank the entire medical staff on the 3rd and 4th floors at St. Peter's Hospital and St. Peter's Hospice for their professional and compassionate care they provided to Elaine.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend a Funeral Mass celebrating Elaine's life on Monday, November 27, 2023 at 10:00am in St. Pius X Roman Catholic Church, 23 Crumitie Road, Loudonville NY 12211.

Donations may be made in Elaine's memory to the Mohawk Hudson Human Society Animal Shelter, 3 Oakland Avenue, Menands, NY 12204.

To share a memory of Elaine, or to leave a special memory for her family, please visit the guestbook below.