Elaine Ingram

Elaine Marie (Robinson) Ingram, 91, passed away peacefully in Albany, NY on Monday, July 27, 2026.

Elaine was born in Olean, NY. Her mother passed away when she was four, and after her father remarried, she lived with her eight step and half siblings while spending part of her youth on her grandparents’ rural farm.

She went to college and was already teaching elementary school when she met the love of her life, C. Robert (Bob Ingram), at Buffalo State one summer. The two married and taught school for a year on Clark Air Force base in Manila, Philippines. They then moved to Long Island, NY, where they raised their five children.

Elaine worked as a substitute teacher part of the time but mainly stayed home to raise her children. She returned to the workforce in the 80s in the Bureau of Racing and Wagering as an inspector of games of chance all over Long Island and then worked for Social Services assisting women to get training to find employment. She loved her jobs and meeting so many people.

She was active in politics, first by taking her children to civil rights marches in the 60’s and then by playing an active role in the 70s and 80s in many local, state and national political campaigns. She was active in the Catholic Daughters of America in her local parish, working bake sales and volunteering time to care for homebound parishioners.

Elaine loved to paint and sew, and her house had examples of both, from the bamboo designs on the kitchen cabinets to the beautiful upholstery covers she made for the living room. She was also a phenomenal cook. She used a 20-book encyclopedia of cooking from around the world and also recipes from her life on the farm. At Christmas she would always invite the neighbors’ children over to decorate Christmas cookies, and she frequently catered for her friends at different events. Her Texas BBQ was legendary as well as her traditional Thanksgiving banquet. Elaine was a voracious reader and would read the New Yorker magazine every week, saving all the cover art for probably close to 50 years.

Bob and Elaine retired to Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia in 1990 where she spent 25 years entertaining family and friends, decorating the home and gardening. She loved swimming and floating in the lake and being near the mountains and hills that reminded her of her childhood home. She and Bob also found time to travel to all 50 states and around the world, to Sicily, China, Perú, and the Holy Lands to name a few.

Elaine volunteered at the local schools' reading programs and even did some substitute teaching (always showing the kids how to make maple syrup). She made weekly runs for Meals on Wheels as well as being very active at Resurrection Roman Catholic Church, both in the choir and fundraising.

She spent several years putting together a cookbook for all her children with not only her family’s favorite recipes but many from her in-laws, neighbors and friends. Her children and grandchildren cherish the recipes and memories they represent.

Elaine is survived by her five children and their families: María Ingram, Robert (Carrie) Ingram, Michael (Marleen) Ingram, Thérèse (Christopher) Lane, and Ted (Sylvia) Ingram, as well as 11 grandchildren: Alexandra, Alaina, Annalise, Madison, Mikayla, Peyton, Adam, Jason, Aaron, Kevin and Jenny, two great-grandchildren: Isla and Robin, and her siblings: Thomas (Rita) Robinson, Theodore (Candy) Robinson, Angela (Gregory) Thomson, Janet (Lawrence) Allen, Timothy (Janet) Robinson, Brenda (David) Hollingsworth.

Elaine will be forever remembered for her kindness, her love of family, country and God, and her cooking. She was a wonderful wife, mother and human being. Elaine often would quote from a poem: “The world is so full of a number of things, I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings!

Please be advised, services will be held and announced at a later date.