Lesley G. (Kendrick) Elliott, 51, of Hamden, passed away peacefully on Friday, November 2, 2012 at the Montowese Health & Rehabilitation Center, North Haven surrounded by her family. She was the beloved wife of Robby H. Elliott. Lesley was born in New Haven on February 1, 1961;loving daughter of Phyllis (Robbins) Kendrick of Hamden and the late Bryan Kendrick and had worked as a Senior Claims Adjuster for the United Health Care. Lesley and her daughters coached and supported the Hamden-North Haven Special Olympics; she loved watching her daughters soccer games, loved the beach, enjoyed her vacations with family and friends, but most of all she was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and daughter. Beloved mother of Danielle and Alexandria Elliott. Loving grandmother of Bryan Palmer. Sister of Cindy Scirocco and Terry Jackson. The Elliott, Robbins and Kendrick families would like to thank the Hospital of St. Raphael, Montowese Rehabilitation Center of North Haven, and all the families and coaches of Hamden Soccer for all their support.
Funeral services will be conducted in the North Haven Funeral Home, 36 Washington Avenue, Tuesday morning at 10:00. Interment will follow in Eastside Cemetery, Woodbridge. The visiting hours will be Monday from 5 to 8 pm.
ROBBIE MY FAMILY SENDS THEIR DEEPEST SORROW TO YOU AND THE REST OF YOUR FAMILY…..MAY PEACE BE WITH YOU AT THIS TIME OF HEART ACHE AND SORROW…..
Lesley, was a sweet person and a pleasure to work with. She always had a positive attitude and she will be greatly missed. My prayers are with the family during this time of their loss.
sorry for your loss love the pepe family
I am so sorry for your loss. I worked with Lesley for 5 years and she was always a joy to talk with. I know she loved her family very much. We will truly miss her here at United HealthCare. Her coworker- Tracy Cobb
Robbie and the girls, I am deeply sorry for your lost. She was a great friend. All the things we went through as childhood friends, I will never forget those wonderful memory’s we shared.
My sympathies and prayers to the Elliott family. Lesley was a vital part of the UHC Hamden team and always with a quick smile.
Lesley was a truly amazing & generous person who will be deeply missed by all who knew her. Our deepest sympathy.
Donna & Sean (North haven special olympics)
Lesley was a ray of sunshine, always smiling and just a great friend and woman. She was certainly a bright soul. My thoughts, prayers and condolences to her family and friends. Lesley will be sorely missed.
So blessed to have had 21 years and nothing
but good memories which I have
tucked away in my heart. You were one of the kindest most sincere people I have ever known. Love and miss you my friend!
My sincere sympathy to the entire Elliott family – Lesley was a wonderful woman.
I AM SO SORRY FOR LOSS,SHE WAS A GOOD WOMAN,IF THERE IS ANTHING I CAN DO LET ME KNOW
Robbie i’m so sorry 2 hear of your loss , my thoughts and prayers go out 2 your entire family. Leslie is with the lord where all angels go. Peace be with you at this time of sorrow .
Danielle, You and your family are in our thoughts and prayers. We are so sorry for your loss.
Cara and Kelly
Gone Too Soon: God has place people in other lives for a reason and I believe Lesley was place in mine as a blessing it was the greatest pleasure in knowing her although it was a very short time she has touch my heart with her loving smile, and the strength she shows regardless of her pain she was a true inspiration to myself and others who has come to know her. May the grace of God bring peace and comfort to her entire family in their time of grief.
Robbie , i’m so sorry 2 hear about Lesley , may the love of family and friends help you get through this tough time . May the Lord welcome Lesley in his arms and watch over your family .
Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you all. Leslie will remain in our hearts forever.
Lesley will be truly missed here at United Healthcare and our thoughts and prayers are with the family. Very sorry for your loss. May God grant you strength when you need it, rest when you need it, and peace and comfort during this time.
To Rob & Family,
Out Heartfelt Condolences! Please take comfort in knowing that “Lesley” will forever be remembered in our thoughts and prayers. We share the “deepest” admiration for our “Loving” and “Special” friend “Lesley”. She will live on with us “forever”! With our “Sincerest Love”, Ron & Pam Gershman.
My deepest sympathies to your family. I pray you will be comforted by your Heavenly Father in this time of such sorrow. Leslie will be greatly missed by all of her co-workers.
Lesley was a fantastic person and I feel so lucky that I got to know her as a friend. My sincere sympathies go out to the family. I know she will be missed by everyone.
When you look back at what defines a person throughout their life people will usually say their children or their legacy they leave behind. Lesley Elliott children definitely defined who she was and she left a legacy behind for generations to follow. This was shown last night from over the 350 people who showed up to pay their respects. From young children to adults from all ages. She was not a public figure, servant or even a politician. The question is then how does one person have so many people show up to pay their respects. What defined Lesley G. Elliott as a person was her ability to give and receive friendship, love, trust, respect and admiration. Those are the characteristics that made her who she was.
Friendship: To be able to love someone you must be there friend first. I met Lesley and Rob in 1989 when I was a junior in High School. We will just say Lesley and Robby had already graduated from High School at that time. I met Robby first at the basketball court at Hillside Village. We formed an unlikely friendship. Here was this “gruff” iron welder worker with tattoos covering his entire body trying to play basketball. Some people would have called his style of play rugby. There I was this little skinny Vietnamese kid (yes I was skinny back then as it was pointed out by my goddaughter recently) on the basketball court teaming up with Robby. Lesley would often laugh hearing the stories about us playing with the neighborhood kids on the basketball court. Through the years our friendship grew stronger as each year passed by. We would often help each other out when we were neighbors. I still remember the day when Robby called me up asking me to do a favor for his wife” Cous’ my wife’s car keeps getting sap from the trees can you help us out and switch her parking space or talk to someone about it”. I worked for the Condo association back then and the simple act of me switching her parking spot to the sun outside her back door brought the biggest smile on her face. She was forever grateful for this simple act. That’s what friends do , acts of kindness because they want to and expect nothing in return. Lesley would always return the acts of kindness by feeding me. Anyone who know me know that is the one of best way to repay my friendship.
Love: Lesley loved life. Her radiant smile and overflowing brown hair would radiate the room. She loved to be able to help other people and make people happy. Robby was her true love. When she took her wedding vows(three times is a charm)she meant it to stand by her man for better and for worse. Lesley did just that. She loved Robby and through good times loved him endlessly and through the bad times always saw the good in him even when others struggled. That was true love. When Danielle was born I will never forget the day Robby and Lesley came home from the hospital. Both were brimming were ear to ear. Here was Lesley just coming home from the hospital and all she wanted to do was make me was fried dough while I watched in amazement how precious Danielle was. Needless to say I had several fried dough’s with sauce and held Danielle and we all laughed and shared stories. Then came the countless birthday parties with Danielle, various celebrations, endless drawing of Barney and family gatherings. This truly made Lesley happy. Watching family and friends celebrate together. As 23 years went by I am very proud to this day to say that I loved Lesley as a best friend and was able to tell her this again last Thursday. From speaking to many friends last night Lesley already knew this. She loved that our friendship encompassed her children and her family.
Trust: On April 2, 1996 approximately 12:48am I received a phone call from Robby. In Robby’s own unique way” Yo, cous, Alexandria Morgan Elliott was born. Mama Les and I want you to be her godfather”. I was honored and spoke to Lesley and Rob and they said they could not have thought of anyone else for this duty. Trusting your child with another person is one thing, trusting to have someone look after your child’s life well it is an honor that I would never take lightly. Through the 16 years of watching Alexandria grow up Lesley and Robby truly appreciated my role to their children. So much so in the later years Lesley and Rob asked me to be the godfather to Danielle. Which I obliged with no hesitation. I remember the phone calls to the kids and Alex always starting to yell ” mommy it’s… then with the softest most precious whisper.. godfather” on the phone. That would make Lesley heart melt as well as mine every time we heard it. There were many vacations that both our families shared, many family functions we would attend. Countless times I would take either goddaughters out or both of them and Lesley would never hesitate to have me take them. That trust is a powerful bond that has never been broken.
Respect: To be able to be a friend, love a person and trust someone you have to respect yourself and others. Where does that come from. With Lesley it came from her parents. Bryan and Phyllis Kendrick. Lesley loved her mother and father endlessly. The respect she had for them and the family values she passed on to her kids This the sign of respect that was instilled in her by her parents. I remember speaking to both of my goddaughters recently when they were looking for advice on what to do when their mother leaves them. One of the hardest things I had to tell them was your mother will never die. She will live on through your hearts and in spirit. It is your job to take all the good lessons you have learned from her apply them in your life by succeeding in life. Take the lessons and apply them to your children when the time comes. That was your mother will always be part of you and other generations to come.
Admiration: When Lesley became ill in June the only thing she thought about was her mother, children and how Robby was going to be if he had to take care of the children. There were people she had in her life but she wanted to make sure they were going to be there for her family. I remember in June Lesley could barely walk let alone do a unified 100 meter walk with her athletes for Special Olympics. She was worried if she was not going to be able to do it. She was worried if her athletes would not get a medal if she did not participate. I pumped her up and told her she could do this. She called her daughters and told them your godfather is making me walk the 100 meter walk. Well, She did the walk and her team received medals. The smile on her face was not for Lesley completing the task but the enjoyment she got seeing the athletes she coached receive their medals. That is a selfless act that is beyond words. That was Lesley. When Rob got injured she ran around like a mad woman between the hospital, giving rides to the kids and working. I would help her and always ask her how do you do it? She would reply I love my kids I have to do this. During the past month all Lesley could talk about was how mother in-law Connie had really came through for her. She was so touched that Connie would buy outfits, bring anything she needed and just sit with her. She knew they did not agree on everything with Robby(but who does) but the love Connie showed to her she was forever grateful. I was truly amazed , here was my best friend very sick but all she could talk about was Connie, Robby , her children and her mother. That was Lesley putting everyone above herself.
In closing, everyone in this room look around you. Look to the person next to you. Put your differences to the side, if you have them with anyone in your life, life is too short. Give that person your un-devoted friendship, love, trust, respect and admiration. Mama Les would have it no other way. To my beautiful goddaughters I made a promise to your mom last Thursday that I would always look after you both, she politely said thank you, so know your godfather is always here for you as well as your family and friends.
For Robby , true friendship is hard to find. Embrace it and cherish it. Your children will count on you the most. As Alex said in the car yesterday you are now going to have to be her mother too. No one can replace Lesley as a wife, mother, daughter , grandmother, or friend. We can only let her live on through our hearts and cherish the memories she gave us.
Goodbye my dear friend I love you and you will never be forgotten by anyone.
Love Always
David P. Velardi