Family of SUV Driver Remembers Her Smile, Laughs and Optimism
Friends and family of Ellen Brody remembered her Friday as a perpetually optimistic and caring family person who greeted everyone with a warm smile and infectious humor.
Hundreds packed the Chabad of the Rivertowns in Dobbs Ferry for a touching and tear-filled funeral service to pay their last respects to Brody, 49, of Edgemont. Her SUV moved onto the tracks at the Commerce Street train crossing in Valhalla Tuesday evening, triggering the worst accident in Metro-North history. Five passengers in the front car of the train were also killed when a fire broke out following the collision.
“It struck me in every single meeting, without fail, Ellen was smiling with that huge, warm, Ellen smile,” Rabbi Benjy Silverman said.
He said it was symbolic that Tuesday night was the Jewish holiday of Tu B’shvat, which celebrates trees that provide fruit, shade and oxygen.
“Like a tree, she gave so much more than it takes. Her smile, her energy and her positivity was our breath of fresh air,” Silverman said.
Brody, who worked at ICD Contemporary Jewelry on South Greeley Avenue in Chappaqua, was on her way to see a new client in the Valhalla area early Tuesday evening, said her husband, Alan.
Having met in 1989, Ellen was the love of his life and that “our family reveled in her sunshine,” he said.
“Ellen lived life to the fullest and she loved every minute of it,” said Alan Brody.
Fighting back tears, Alan Brody said he began to worry Tuesday night when his wife hadn’t returned home and couldn’t be reached. Brody said he had always hoped to be there to help his wife but on Tuesday night he was unable to play “superhero.”
“All we can do now is remember the love and the joy she gave us, which will never leave us,” he said.
Each of her three daughters, Alexa, Julia and Danielle, struggled at times to get through their eulogies. Before and after they spoke, they embraced each other on the sanctuary stage trying to console one another.
They talked about how their mom was their support system and biggest fan and was welcoming of their friends into the family’s house.
“I can only hope that me and my sisters can embody just one ray of her sunshine,” said Danielle, 22, the oldest daughter.
Ellen Brody’s uncle, Sid Greenberg, told a story of when she worked for him and her late father in a family business in Queens before she met Alan. A young man in the neighborhood who was in a wheelchair one day asked Ellen for a date. She accepted.
The next day the young man’s mother came to let her father and Greenberg know how special that night was for him.
“Not just a date but a date with a pretty girl,” Greenberg remembered her saying.
Silverman said that it seems unfair that Ellen Brody’s life was cut short at such an early age, but that she accomplished what she set out to do.
“When Ellen’s soul left this world on Tuesday night, you could comfortably announce ‘mission accomplished,'” Silverman said. “She couldn’t haven’t given anything more. She gave everything of herself.”
Following the funeral, Brody was buried in Montefiore Cemetery in Queens.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
