Eleanor Cheselka
Born: January 20, 1925
Died: December 16, 2009
Married: Andrew Cheselka
Children: Andrew Cheselka Jr., John Ridenour Cheselka
Eleanor Schell Ridenour Cheselka was a daughter of Adirondack Daily Enterprise publisher John Ridenour.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, January 12, 2010
Eleanor Schell Ridenour Cheselka
Eleanor Schell Ridenour Cheselka, 84, died Dec. 16, 2009 in South Setauket, Long Island.
She was born Jan. 20, 1925 in Saranac Lake, the daughter of John S. and Clara (Wilcox) Ridenour. She attended local schools and was graduated from Choate School, Brookline, Mass. and Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School in Boston. During two summer vacations, she worked in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise business office. On graduation from Katherine Gibbs, she was first employed as a medical secretary at Harvard Medical School. A doctor connected with the Grenfell Mission at St. Anthony's, Newfoundland, persuaded her to volunteer two summer months at the Mission. There she formed a lifelong friendship with a resident volunteer, exchanging letters and Christmas gifts annually.
Subsequently, she moved to New York City where she met Andrew Cheselka, who was completing his master's degree at Columbia University Teachers College. The couple were married at St. Luke's Church in Saranac Lake Sept. 15, 1956. Her husband became a history professor at Suffolk Community College, and the couple moved permanently with their two sons to Setauket. She was an active member of Caroline Episcopal Church, serving on both Altar and Ladies Guilds.
The family enjoyed travelling, spending a year in Munich, Germany, while Prof. Cheselka did research, and a summer in Russia where he was visiting history professor at a university. Several times they visited his family in Czechoslovakia and relatives in Italy.
She was predeceased by her husband on July 9, 2009. Surviving are two sons: Andrew Jr. and his wife Catherine of Spring, Texas, and John Ridenour Cheselka and his wife Alice, of Setauket; a sister, Alice R. Wareham of Saranac Lake; and a niece, Ann Wareham and her husband Jonathon Driller of Orinda, Calif.
Services and burial were held Dec. 19 at Caroline church in Setauket.