Elaine Judith Stein

Elaine Judith Stein died on October 29, 2023. She was 94 years old.

Born in Newark, New Jersey she grew up in Nanuet and Pearl River New York where she was the last surviving member of her graduating class. She worked throughout high school in a local hospital and caring for horses. She learned photography on her own and was a remarkable photographer. She was a saxophonist and was chosen to be in the New York All State Band when in high school. She attended NYU where she was on the swim team. After raising four children she received two Master's degrees from William Paterson University. She began working for the Wyckoff School District as a member of the Child Study Team in 1975 and retired in 1996. She was a resident of Park Ridge, New Jersey where she and her first husband, Felix Shagin (dec.) were active in the community in youth sports, scouting and school development activities. She later lived in Franklin Lakes, Oakland, Hackensack, and Hawthorne, New Jersey and in Fulton, Texas. She remarried in 1985 and she and Arthur Stein (dec.) traveled from Pt. Barrow, Alaska to southern Florida in an RV. She was fiercely independent, determined and imbued her children with the same spirit.

She was physically active her whole life. She was a competitive roller skater in high school; tap and line dancer in retirement; skied; sailed; rock climbed and hiked. She loved nature and animals. After retiring she climbed the Grand Tetons; kayaked and hiked for several months in Alaska. She navigated and sailed with her husband, Art, to Bermuda. She backpacked during summer breaks and hiked through Scotland and England. She had many animals and raised German Shepherds for the Seeing Eye Foundation.

She is survived by four children Tracy Shagin (Glenys) of Fort Collins Colorado, Scott Shagin (Kim Ringler) of Ridgewood, Craig Shagin of Harrisburg Pennsylvania, and Alyson Intveld (James) of West Milford, New Jersey. She is also survived by eleven grandchildren, Michael, Jeff, Derek, Doug, Todd, Pam, Jill, Paula, Abby, Becky and Thomas; and twelve great grandchildren, Juniper, Sebastian, Cole, Ella, Joselyn, Saffron, Anissa. Jase, Luca, Evelyn, Camilla and Alyssa; and her Hawthorne friends including Patty Chamberlain.

She continued to drive, read, think, walk and care for her beloved West Highland-Schnauzer, Nikki, and remained very much the same person she had been her whole life through the end: courageous, sensible, caring and unflappable. Donations to the Bergen County Audubon Society would honor her memory and lifelong love of nature.