Elsa Mackey Handleman

Elsa Mackey Handleman, 68, of Los Angeles, CA, died Tuesday at home in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She was under hospice care and surrounded by her family.

Elsa was a dynamic, gregarious person who enjoyed meeting people and was genuinely interested in hearing their stories. She was a gourmet cook with a penchant for design, from interiors to clothing and jewelry. Elsa came from a family of talented musicians and had a beautiful singing voice. The home she created for her own family was always filled with music. The "Music Room" was replete with instruments and equipment devoted to encouraging her children in their own musical pursuits. A high school debate champion with a flair for drama and a wicked sense of humor, she could be tenacious with her point of view, which led to many an interesting conversation.

A former nurse, Elsa met her husband of 44 years, Marshall "Jeff" Handleman, at USC School of Medicine during his residency. After marrying, she earned an MA in Psychology from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. True, passionate partners of like mind and heart, Elsa and Marshall also made a formidable medical team. Both of their successful Los Angeles-based neurology practices, one at West Hills Hospital and the other at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, helped countless people and their families.

Perhaps the following is the most important thing to know about Elsa: If you were a friend in need, she would pull you in from the cold, wrap you in a warm blanket, serve you the best home-cooked meal you've ever had, listen to your tale of woe, hug you and make you laugh, insist you spend the night, lay out freshly washed pajamas, and send you off in the morning after breakfast and a shower feeling refreshed and renewed, with money in your pocket and an appointment with and ride to just the right doctor/attorney/accountant/clergy/shrink to fix whatever ailed you. She was a wise, warm and generous person who touched many people's lives.

She also knew how to throw a good party and was a lot of fun to be around.

Elsa is preceded in death by her younger sister, Veronica Mackey Stanley. She is survived by her husband Marshall Handleman, her son Ian Handleman and her daughter Julie Handleman.

She was surrounded with love in her final days and repeatedly communicated to her family how much she loved them. She will be missed tremendously.

Her family is thankful to the medical staff and volunteers at both Penrose-St. Francis Hospital and Pikes Peak Hospice in Colorado Springs for making her last year of life as comfortable as possible.

She will be laid to rest at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills, next to her beloved mother, Helene Rasch Mackey.