Elisabeth “Elisa” Stroud Poole, 78, daughter of Eleanor B. Stroud and Dr. Henry H. Stroud of Wilmington, Delaware, died March 28, 2020, in Greenville.
Elisa was a 1959 graduate of Wilmington Friends School and received a B.A. in political science in 1963 from Wellesley College in Massachusetts. During high school, Elisa spent a summer in Japan with the first class of American Field Service students to travel to the country after World War II. She maintained contact with her Japanese family for almost 50 years.
Throughout her life, Elisa donated her time and considerable talents to her family, friends, and community, making an indelible mark on the state of Delaware and the people who knew her. Elisa was instrumental in creating Leadership Delaware, Read Aloud Delaware, and the Fund for Women at the Delaware Community Foundation. A gifted and dedicated leader, Elisa served as a 20-year director and board secretary of WHYY; first chair of the Delaware Community Foundation; first female chair of the board of United Way of Delaware; board president of Planned Parenthood of Delaware and later a member of its Public Affairs Committee; president of the Visiting Nurses Association; and first female chair of the board of the Greenville Country Club. While President of the Junior League of Wilmington, Elisa successfully advocated for the establishment of Delaware’s Foster Care Review Board. Elisa’s service and accomplishments were celebrated with numerous awards, including the ACLU of Delaware’s Kandler Award, its highest honor. Elisa was honored for volunteerism by the Alexis de Tocqueville Society, and for her leadership in interfaith initiatives with the Community Builder Award from the Delaware Chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews.
Elisa served as the executive director of the Salvation Army’s Wee Care Day Care Center.
A lifelong art lover and collector, Elisa and her husband, Richard E. Poole, opened Aerie Art Gallery — first in Wilmington and then in Rehoboth Beach — in 2000.
Elisa is survived by her children, Tina Poole Johnson (Nick), Kirsten Poole (Scott), and Edward Poole; eight beloved grandchildren, Hunter, Emmy, Eleanor, Zoe, Max, Jenny, Henry, and Rose; and her sister, Eileen Clark (Martin). Elisa’s high-school sweetheart and husband of 51 years, Richard, predeceased her in 2015.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Fund for Women at the Delaware Community Foundation, WHYY, or Planned Parenthood of Delaware.
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