Elinor “El” H. Warner, born on October 19, 1963 in New York, NY, left our realm much too soon, on the 17th day of March, 2023. The scores of us who knew her as friend are left shocked, red-eyed, and above all grateful. Those lucky enough to love El encountered a true force of nature, but one with a giant heart and soul. She gave us her piercing mind, savage wit, withering stare, serious focus, fearless opinions, unyielding spirit, and steadfast kindness. From her earliest days, El was tenaciously herself and a true leader. We will each miss her in our own ways for the rest of our lives.
El was a Sweet Briar College alum. As a junior, she was the fearless Editor-in-Chief of the Sweet Briar News, and as a senior, the President of the Student Government. After years of leading as President of the Class of 1985, El was a key player in the Saving Sweet Briar fight to help regain the keys to the College in 2015. After winning, she served with distinction on the Board of Directors. She had been Operations Co-Chair for the Alumnae Alliance Council up to her passing. She loved and supported her alma mater in every way imaginable.
El received her Ph.D in English at the University of Virginia; her MA in English at the University of Virginia, and her AB at Sweet Briar College, graduating magna cum laude with High Honors in American Studies.
Over the last twenty years, El provided strategic marketing consulting services to a diverse range of clients, including Three Wire Systems; VetAdvisor; Ausley Associates; and Bricata. Prior to that El was the National Director for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in Chapter Communications and the founding Editor and Publisher of The Elucidator, a regional, quarterly arts and lifestyle magazine in Easton, PA. El was also a visiting assistant professor of English at Lafayette College; a visiting assistant professor of English at the College of William & Mary; and an instructor of English at the University of Virginia.
In Easton, PA, El served her community in many ways. She was a board member and Director of Development Committee for A Gathering of Tribes; Chair and Committee Member for Historic Easton Homes and Gardens; Board Member of Easton Business Association; Chair of the Advisory Board for Easton Main Street Initiative; Elected Member of Easton Home Rule Charter Study Commission; Easton City Councilwoman; and Vice Mayor of Easton.
During the pandemic, El was grateful for the social aspect of her College Hill Book Club and how her friends helped stir her intellect. El also had a bartending gig at the The Lafayette Bar where on occasion she also guest DJ’ed.
A 19-year-old El took a late summer job back in 1983, working the midnight shift, as a toll-taker. She wrote the following as part of a convocation speech the fall of 1984, her senior year at Sweet Briar College: “I’d sit in the booth for eight hours, watching the Easton skyline, the river below me, the traffic relentless across the bridge. I wouldn’t think anything. But now I think there is a nexus between river and skyline, toll-taker and traffic. All are impermanent, doing what they have to do just for a moment in a changing landscape. And every night the landscape was so different – the traffic, the lights across the river, the water flowing in the river itself, and me, a day older, a day different. There really is no such thing as a “still life.” Life means transience, life is something that transcends itself. I learned so much just sitting there in the booth, or on my porch, watching the color of the sky change the feeling of my backyard continuously, relentlessly.”
El said in her senior-year speech: “And so, we come to me up on
this stage trying to give some of what I’ve gotten, back to you. How do I do it? I’ve gotten so much I don’t know how to give it back. Most importantly, I’ve learned that I know nothing, that I have everything to learn every day of my life.”
El was preceded in death by her mother, Shirley Brody Warner, father, Frederick Louis Warner, her cats Russell and Rufus, and her dear dog, Brody. She is survived by her sister, Lori Warner, and her dog, Teddy, along with those scores of shocked and saddened friends.
A celebration of El’s life will be held at her home with friends and family on March 22 between 4 and 6 PM. Please call the Ashton Funeral Home (610-253-4678) for details. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Sweet Briar College (www.sbc.edu). Offer online condolences at www.AshtonFuneralHome.com.
