Ellen D. Gaine

2000 - 2026

OBITUARY

Ellen Danielle Gaine, our beloved daughter, sister, niece and friend, passed away peacefully on January 19, 2026, at the age of 25. She was surrounded by her family and the dedicated Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center staff, who had become family, over the course of her courageous year-long battle with spinal cord and brain cancer.

Before falling ill, Ellen was teaching third grade in Massachusetts, a role she cherished deeply. She brought warmth, patience, and genuine joy to her classroom, and took great pride in shaping young lives through kindness. Ellen was a proud lesbian, and she dreamed of a future that included a loving wife and children of her own. 

Despite the hardships she faced over the past year, Ellen remained remarkably positive, light, and full of joy. She met each day with humor and an unwavering spirit that lifted everyone around her. On her better days, she loved to express her creativity through drawing, making crafts and building legos. Ellen always felt a deep connection to Ireland, the place she was born, where her family is, and where many cherished memories were made. Over the past year she often reminisced on her childhood summers spent in Ireland and dreamed of going back. When we look back on this past year, it is the memories of time spent together in love and laughter that we will hold closest. 

In reflecting on her diagnosis, Ellen spoke about looking forward to the small, ordinary inconveniences of life that so many of us take for granted, saying: "personally, I vow to stub my toe one day and enjoy the hell out of it and I hope you do too.” 

Ellen will be remembered for her strength, compassion, and sense of humor. She is survived by her devoted parents, Margaret and Danny, her loving siblings, Devin, Michelle, and Lisa and her cat Junie. She also leaves behind her aunts, Evelyn and Noreen Curran, and her cousins, Aisling & Ciarán Casey and John O’Neill, who were with her in New York throughout the past year, alongside a wide circle of friends and family in Ireland and beyond who held a special place in her heart.

Service times and additional details are listed below. Family and friends are warmly invited to gather in remembrance and celebration of Ellen’s life.

In lieu of flowers, donations in honor of Ellen may be made to MSK here, in gratitude for the exceptional care, compassion, and love shown to Ellen and her family. Ellen once shared the following, which we feel perfectly reflects the extraordinary care MSK provides:

“To my family, friends, nurses, doctors, therapists, roommates (good and bad), the environmental, transport and food service workers who took the time to get to know me, thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you all. The tears and laughter we shared kept me human and sustained my will to fight. You are all forever in my heart.”

VISITATION

Friday, January 23

2:00 - 4:00 PM & 7:00 - 9:00 PM

New Hyde Park Funeral Home

506 Lakeville Road, New Hyde Park, NY

MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL

Saturday, January 24

9:30 AM

St. Anne R.C. Church

35 Dartmouth Street, Garden City, NY

Private Cremation

Long Island Cremation Company

91 Eads Street, West Babylon, NY