Obituary of Elena E. Acosta

Norman Dean Home for Services 16 Righter Avenue Denville, New Jersey 07834 (973) 627-1880 Daily Record 1x Sunday 4-17-2011 Neighbor News Elena Gabrie Acosta, 85, died on March 16, 2011 at Compassionate Care Hospice at Saint Clare’s Hospital, Dover, NJ. Dr. Acosta was born in San Pedro Sula, Honduras on December 13, 1925, the second youngest of 11 children. Her parents, Nicholas and Elena Gabrie, immigrated to Honduras from Palestine. Dr. Acosta, a trailblazer in the medical profession, was one of the first women in Honduras to earn a medical degree. As a teenager, she persuaded the President of Honduras to endorse her admission to medical school over the objections of her father. A groundbreaking clinical study of polio in Honduras brought her recognition and an invitation to continue her training at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia in 1956. She further trained in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital in Boston, as well as hospitals in New York City. By 1969, she was among the early physicians to establish a pediatrics practice in Morris County (Denville), retiring in 1998. Dr. Acosta was also a talented gardener, who spent many hours planting and maintaining a garden at her home in Mountain Lakes. She leaves her husband of 51 years Juan J. Acosta, three children, Alexandra Acosta (James Losey) of Chevy Chase, MD, Juan M. Acosta (Michelle Castro) of Sacramento, CA, Lorraine Acosta (William Best) of Montclair, NJ, and her sister, Estrella Garcia of Emerson, NJ, and five grandchildren, Colin and Julia Losey, Isabella Acosta, and Andrew and Alexander Best. A memorial service will be held Thursday April 21st at 9am at Saint Clare’s Hospital Chapel Pocono Rd., Denville, NJ. In lieu of flowers memorial gifts maybe made to the Saint Clare’s Foundation 140 Diamond Spring Rd., Denville, NJ 07834. Funeral Arrangements handled thru Norman Dean Home for Services, Denville, NJ www.normandean.com, (please light a candle in memory of Dr. Acosta on web site).