Eleofina Andujar, “Elly” to her family and friends, passed away on March 22, 2025, in Brevard, North Carolina.
Born in Puerto Rico in 1942, Elly moved to Ohio with her family at the age of seven when her father found work in the steel mills and her mother worked as a talented seamstress. A graduate of the University of Ohio Nursing School, she earned her RN degree, and later at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, MA, she obtained her Master and Doctor of Divinity degrees. Elly spent her life joyfully serving others.
Throughout her life, Elly manifested a relentless passion for justice. She was known for her boundless energy, upbeat spirit, smile, and bicultural skills. In her early nursing career in Michigan, she served as a labor and delivery nurse and provided mental health care to teenagers in hospitals throughout the Detroit area. Later, in Massachusetts, she worked with incarcerated women and men, and, during the AIDS epidemic with Spanish-speaking populations. In North Carolina, she became a leader in the local NAACP, working on voting rights in marginalized communities, and made trips to Jerusalem and the West Bank as an advocate for Palestinian justice.
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Elly was known for her exceptional tennis skills. She continued to play enthusiastically and maintained a regular workout routine until recently, despite her long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Additionally, she had a deep love for her churches — Church of the Good Shepherd, Watertown, MA and St. Phillip's, Brevard, NC, where she served as an active lay reader, altar guild member, and eucharistic minister. Elly was an active member of the Democratic Party.
Most of all, Elly loved her family: Ann Franklin; Richard and Jennifer Galka; Robert Galka; Ray and Margaret Jones; Kay Jones and Nathan Logus, and Ann’s and her grandchildren, Ryan Jones (deceased), Neisha Jones, Emily Christine Galka, Eli Galka, and Maxwell Logus.
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She also looked forward to visiting her sisters, brothers and their families in Puerto Rico and Orlando, Florida.
The interment of ashes will take place on Sunday, May 4, at 11:30 AM at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Watertown, MA.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Thursday, May 8, at 10:30 AM at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Brevard, NC.
Gifts in memory of Elly may be made to:
El Centro
249 Main Street
Brevard, NC 28712
St. Philip's Episcopal Church Foundation
256 E Main Street
Brevard, NC 28712
