Elaine Donnelly

It is with great sadness that I have to inform you that Elaine Donnelly passed away on 19th February 2020 in Stepping Hill Hospital after a brave battle with cancer. Elaine was Eighty One Years Young.

Elaine joined the Club in the early nineties and served on the committee for a while.

It was quite a challenge to keep up with her on steep black runs, she was known for her need for speed. And she will be remembered for her love of life, sense of humour and her laughter. I’ll treasure the memory of dancing on the tables with her at Le Folie Douce!

Chris Fildes

A few happy memories of Elaine from Ernie Metcalfe

I met Elaine on my first holiday with the ski club to La Tania in 2005. As new boys she took my son Michael and I under her wing, and we spent much of the week skiing with her. Thus was formed a very comfortable skiing friendship that lasted until we both stopped skiing at about the same time. We often skied in the same group on club holidays.

I will always think of her as “Miss Van Chaud” — her favourite drink on the slopes, accompanied by tarteflet at lunch time. At one pit stop we had I went and bought her usual van chaud without thinking. On giving it to her she gave me that lovely wistful smile of hers and said “I’ll have a hot chocolate”. She had both!

Another time I asked her how to make a good, thick gravy. Knowing that she had been a domestic science teacher I thought there would be some good advice. It was “don’t fiddle around with flour and all the roasting juices, just go to Tesco’s and buy gravy granules, it’s much easier”.

Elaine was a very competent and stylish skier. She was not big in stature but big in spirit — really a little bombshell on the slopes. She had great stamina and would often ski by herself down the edge of the piste and then wait for us to catch up. It was a pleasure to ski with her and I am very glad I had the chance to share a sport we both loved.