Elaine Pearlstine Warshauer passed away on August 25, 2019 at her home in Wilmington, NC.
Elaine was born in Charleston, SC on May 28, 1925, to Sophie Zerline Wetherhorn and Leo Clarence Pearlstine. When she was 10 years old, she and her family moved to St. Matthews, SC where her father opened the Pearlstine Hardware Company. They initially lived in the country on the historic Puritan Farm, where she enjoyed riding bareback on her horse Silver.
A few years later, they moved into the town of St. Matthews. Elaine played forward on her high school basketball team and graduated from St. Matthews High School as salutatorian of her class in 1942.
After attending the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for 2 years, she transferred to UNC-Chapel Hill in 1944. During this era, women were not allowed to attend UNC-CH unless they transferred in.
Elaine graduated from UNC with a B.A. in Economics and a Minor in Math in 1946. She completed graduate coursework for an M.A. in Economics at UNC in 1947. During one summer of college, she worked at the Children's Bureau of the Labor Department in Washington, D.C.
While in college, she joined Students for a Democratic Society, which she said was part of her growing awareness that “separate but equal” was wrong. After college, from 1946-1950, she worked at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York and lived in Greenwich Village. While there, she was introduced by Joan Warshauer to her brother, Albert David Warshauer, an anesthesiologist doing a residency at a hospital in New York City. Elaine and Albert married in 1950.
Elaine and Albert (deceased 1996) had 5 children and lived in many cities where Albert worked as an anesthesiologist, including Cleveland, Charleston, Durham, Louisville, Wilmington, New Orleans, and Greenville, NC.
In Wilmington, Elaine earned her Teaching Certificate from UNC-Wilmington and taught Algebra at Hoggard High School to 10th and 11th graders in the late 1960s.
When the family moved to New Orleans, Elaine taught Math in the New Orleans Public Schools from 1970-1971. She earned her M.A. in Education from the University of New Orleans in 1973. After graduate school, she directed a research project for the Superintendent of the School Board of New Orleans. The research considered how the early preparation of students in kindergarten and preschool enhanced their performance in the upper grades.
Elaine was involved in renovating houses in Wilmington’s historic district starting in the 1970s. She renovated and managed property in Wilmington for over 30 years.
Elaine was active in a number of organizations, including the League of Women Voters in Wilmington and Greenville, NC; as a Registrar for the League, she went to schools and community events to register people to vote. She was dedicated to voting rights and to peace and justice issues. She was also an active volunteer in the Democratic Party, the Meals On Wheels program, and the Sierra Club.
Over the years, she was involved in the Temple of Israel as the President of the Sisterhood and in other roles. In her 70s and 80s, Elaine organized a group for Temple members and people in the community called the “Gadabouts,” which took trips to art, cultural and historic sites in North and South Carolina. Into her 90s, she held weekly Rummikub game meetings at her home with friends, and she cherished the expression, “Friends are the chocolate chips in the cookie of life.” She also organized large family trips during these years to Spain, France, Cuba, Scandinavia, Italy, China, Japan, India, and Alaska.
Elaine is survived by her children: Max Leon (Hiroko Kawaguchi) of San Marcos, TX; David Mitchell (Michele Maynard) of Chapel Hill; Joel Thomas (Andrew Dews) of Charlotte; Leo Victor (Quentin Hahn) of Wilmington; and Susan Claire Warshauer (Peter Kahn) of Chevy Chase, MD. She has 11 grandchildren: Amy Yumiko (Carlos Soto), Nathan Hiroshi (Nicole Paul), Lisa Miyoko (Adam Lowrance), and Jeremy Takashi Warshauer (Jennifer Bowes); Isaac Maynard, Aaron Andrew and Jacob Albert Warshauer; Josephine Trudie, Hugo Willem and August Albert Warshauer; and Oliver David Kahn. She has 10 great-grandchildren, Fineas Ryu, Jasper Tomo and Kensey Yoko (Nathan and Nicole); Penelope Hannah, Victoria Clara, Margaret Sophie and Juliana Nell (Lisa and Adam); Madeline Namiko (Amy and Carlos); and Calvin Motohiro and Maxwell Yoshi (Jeremy and Jennifer). She is also survived by her brother, Irving Maynard Pearlstine of Greenville, DE, and her sister-in-law Joan Warshauer Fox of Charleston, SC. She was devoted to her family and friends.
Among the sayings and encouragement, she is known for are: "don't think about doing--do!"; "travel now, as much as you can, while you have your health"; and “I hope you grow up to feel part of a larger world and contribute to humanity and the world around you.”
Elaine is remembered for her acceptance and valuing of people’s diverse backgrounds and interests. She is also remembered for her nonjudgmental attitude; she focused on the positive in people. One of her favorite poems was, “There is so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it hardly behooves any of us, to talk about the rest of us.” Elaine kept an upbeat attitude toward life, continuing to have adventures and contributing to the world around her for as long as she could.
Memorial contributions may be made to the following or a charity of your choice. Since Elaine was active in the maintenance of the Cemetery, contributions in her memory may be made to the Temple of Israel Hebrew Cemetery Fund, Temple of Israel, P.O. Box 4879, Wilmington, NC 28406 or temple-of-israel.org; the Calhoun County Museum and Cultural Center, 313 Butler St., St. Matthews, SC 29135; the Southern Poverty Law Center, splcenter.org; or the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, foodbankcenc.org
Elaine’s family offers sincere appreciation to her caregivers, including Sue Crowell, Lauretta Smith and those from Senior Helpers agency and Trinity Grove, a Senior Care Community, all of whom gave her great care over the last years of her life.
A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019 at the Temple of Israel, 1 S. 4th St., Wilmington, NC. Interment will follow at the Hebrew Cemetery in Oakdale Cemetery at 520 N. 15th St. Arrangements are being made by Andrews Mortuary. Online condolences may be made at Andrews Mortuary or Legacy's
