Obituary of Elena L. McHerron

Elena L. McHerron, a resident of the Town of Poughkeepsie, passed away on Thursday, March 25, 2021 at Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie. Elena was born and raised in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. She was 89.

Elena graduated from Russell Sage College in Troy, NY in 1952 with a degree in Home Economics. While at college, she met her future husband, Lester A. McHerron of Virgil, NY. They were married in 1954. Elena worked for the Cooperative Extension Service in New York. She wrote their newsletter and taught adult school sewing. She was also an accomplished artist in oil painting and sculpture. She was an active member of the local art guild in the 1960’s and submitted work to several of their exhibitions. She played the cello as well with various trios or quartets she formed with her musical friends. Later she was a cellist with the Mid-Hudson Community Orchestra for many years until she could no longer carry her cello to rehearsals. She also kept busy with gardening and sewing for family and customers, including making needlepoint pillows for a local needlework shop, The Needle Nook.

Following the death of her husband in 1994, Elena’s focus turned to natural healing and alternative therapies. She took to educating herself, following the work of Dr. Crook and taking classes at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck. She started a Support Group and wrote a periodic newsletter concerning new supplements or treatments she had learned about in order to teach and reach out to others. Through this she became passionate about helping people from all over the country who found her. She would counsel them on natural ways to treat their illness when the traditional medical system failed them. This work continued up until just a couple years ago when it became more difficult for her to physically host the Support Group and she felt she had written all she could write about in the newsletter.

Elena is survived by her son, Dale and his wife, Sheri, and two daughters, Lois and Judy, as well as four grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

Elena was generous in supporting numerous charities. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a donation to either a charity of your choosing, the Omega Institute, or perform an act of kindness for a stranger in her memory.