Elaine was born in Dunkirk, N.Y., the daughter of Eugene and Maryl (Greenman) Bremer. She grew up in western New York, having spent her youth in Fredonia, West Seneca, and Clarence, N.Y. She graduated from Clarence High School and Alfred University in Alfred, N.Y. She earned her master’s degrees in education and in humanities with a concentration in music history from the University at Buffalo.
She taught first grade in the Williamsville school district for several years. After moving to Olean, N.Y., she taught piano and voice, both privately and at St. Bonaventure University. She was a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, the Organ Guild, the PEO sisterhood, and was a supporter of the Burchfield-Penney Art Center. She was an enthusiastic member of a French conversation group in Amherst, N.Y. Elaine valued music and art. She especially enjoyed singing and playing piano “for the kids.”
Elaine fully immersed herself in any project she took on, consistently adding her loving flair and attention to details. She embodied a passion to make the world around her more beautiful by sharing her artistic talents and emphasizing deep reverence of the past.
She was predeceased by her parents and sister, Jeanne Bremer.
Elaine is survived by her husband of 54 year, John V. Apczynski, of Wiscasset; her son and daughter-in-law, John and Sabrina, of Damariscotta; her grandchildren, Clover Grace and Bodhi Gene Apczynski, of Damariscotta; sisters-in-law, Julia Ann Johnson, of Henderson, Nev. and Joan Marie Looft, of Carbondale, Ill.; and her niece, Jordan Bremer, of Colorado Springs, Colo.
Elaine was involved in both her church and her local Breast Cancer Network organizations.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a donation in her memory to Breast Cancer Network of WNY, at bcnwny.org or Westminster Presbyterian Church, Buffalo, N.Y. at wpcbuffalo.org.
