Elaine, my wife of 64 years died recently.
There was a reception, following her funeral Mass and burial at our church of 47 years, St. Peter in Washington, Virginia.
At the reception, Shannon Kelley, our youngest granddaughter, and I spoke of some of our remembrances of Elaine.
Throughout history there have been forces that are at war with God, the family, and freedom under God’s laws.
Unfortunately, these forces seem to be on the rise and gathering strength.
I hope that by sharing some of our family’s journey it will encourage you to remember the importance of strengthening your commitment to your faith, family, friends, and then share your thoughts to all within the sound of your voice.
Speak up and speak out—talk about your values and beliefs with others, our enemies certainly do. Remember Jesus’s command as he’s ascending to Heaven, “Go forth and make disciples of all nations.”
Eulogy for Elaine O’Leary Viguerie
By: Richard A. Viguerie
September 4, 2026
Good afternoon.
1st – I want to thank everyone for coming to the viewing yesterday or today’s funeral Mass, and
this reception for my wife Elaine.
I realize most of you didn’t know her, and you’re here to support me and my family. Thank
you, thank you, thank you.
2nd – The last week has been the most difficult and challenging week of my life. I may or may
not be able to get through this, but not to worry if I can’t—I’ve got a backup, an understudy
– our granddaughter Shannon has my notes.
3rd – I want to thank all of those who reached out with thoughtful, caring words, cards, flowers,
in recent days. It’s very comforting to me and my family to know so many cared about
Elaine, me, our family, and are praying for all of us, especially for Elaine.
4th – I want to recognize by name a few people who have been exceptionally helpful in the last few days:
- Rachel Brooks, St. Peter secretary
- Kir and others at Moser Funeral Home
- My executive assistant Meredith Cole, my chief of staff Jacob Lane, Vi Shields, and others from my office.
- Our two daughters Michelle and Renée and our six grandchildren.
- Allie and the other wonderful people at New Iberia restaurant who catered today’s lunch.
- And of course, the Saints at St. Peter, including the Knights of Columbus, and the Missionaries of Mercy who are always there when you need them.
I can’t imagine how I could have managed this past week without your support. Thank you, thank you. I’m so very deeply appreciative.
5th – After I finish there will be an open mic opportunity for anyone to share any thoughts they have.
Our son Ryan just flew in from Prague, the Czech Republic.
Elaine and I met on a blind date in March 1961.
I had thought if I wasn’t impressed, I’d buy her a coke and take her home.
But if I was interested, I’d take her to the every-Wednesday evening young adults club meeting at St. Christopher’s Catholic Church.
Well, after meeting her, I couldn’t wait to get her to the young adults club meeting and show her off to my buddies.
“Hey boys, look what I got.”
One of my buddies was president of the club, and knowing I wanted to impress my date, asked me to close the business meeting before our volleyball game, by asking me to lead in saying the Lord’s prayer.
I was so nervous I got halfway through and froze. I had forgotten what comes next, but a friend standing next to me recognized my dilemma and picked up for me.
We were married the following February and late that afternoon flew to New York City, where I had been working as Executive Secretary of Young Americas for Freedom the previous 6 months.
Over the years Elaine would occasionally say to me, STOP PREACHING.
I’d reply, “Honey, I’m not preaching.”
But of course, I was.
Today, she is with the Lord, and she probably would encourage me to preach.
God blessed us with three children and six grandchildren. When you’ve been married 64 years, you have lots of regrets.
I wish we’d done this.
Or I wish we hadn’t done that.
And high on a short list of regrets we both were in agreement that we wished we’d had more children.
I’ve often said the reason you have children is for grandchildren.
So, the more children you have, the more grandchildren you’re likely to have.
Children may listen to you. They may not.
But to grandchildren, you’re 10 feet tall.
You leap high buildings.
You do no wrong.
But I’ve learned to be extra careful what I say and do, or don’t do, around children and especially grandchildren, because often 10-15-20 years later, they will repeat back to me word for word what I said.
Elaine and I grew up in Texas and I always called her my Yellow Rose of Texas. And sent her on birthdays, anniversaries, Mother’s Days—yellow roses—totaling in the thousands.
You may have noticed yellow roses in the shape of a cross and yellow roses on her casket.
Elaine O’Leary being Irish Catholic in the early 1960s probably thought of herself as a supporter of John F. Kennedy and perhaps a Democrat.
However, within 2 months of our marriage, living in New York City, meeting and talking to national conservative leaders like Bill Buckley, Jr., Senator Storm Thurman and others we were having discussions about why for my career it would not be good for her to join the controversial conservative John Birch Society.
She said when she heard the truth, she recognized it and quickly became a strong anti-communist, conservative the rest of her life.
The Lord blessed us with a number of nice homes in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and finally Virginia.
Early in our marriage our homes became almost a headquarters for conservative leaders.
Elaine arranged, organized, and presided as hostess over a thousand breakfasts, brunches, lunches, dinners, receptions, and meetings. And she did this starting in her mid-20s.
She was so young, so smart, and so pretty.
And in addition, she found time to give birth to two daughters by age 22. She soon became fluent in Spanish and French.
When she began her study of French, we took a trip to Paris. And one evening at a sidewalk café, she got into a friendly debate with the French waiter.
She was placing an order for a quarter of a pizza, in other words a large slice.
And she and the waiter went back and forth for several minutes. He said she didn’t want that. She said yes, I do. Finally, after several minutes the waiter was able to communicate to her that she was ordering 44 pizzas.
Elaine was a skilled artist. Some of her paintings are on a table in the back.
Be sure to look at her painting of St. Peter Church.
In 1985 we sold our McLean Virginia home and moved to Washington, Virginia where Elaine became active in town politics serving as the elected Treasurer of Washington, Virginia from 1997-2000.
Early in our marriage Elaine developed a strong interest in health, nutrition, and wellness and through decades of intense study, had a greater understanding of nutrition than many doctors who seldom study the subject.
Through her contacts with various people her health, nutrition, and wellness teachings were shared with hundreds of thousands of people, perhaps millions.
Elaine had many clever sayings. A few such as:
- When you get older, go first class. If you don’t your heirs will.
- When people say who they are, believe them.
- She would occasionally say that my attitude about life is that if a little bit of something is good, a whole lot more has to be better.
- She called the time before dusk in the evening—magic time.
Elaine was my own personal Superwoman.
- Loving, caring, nurturing wife, mother, and grandmother
- Hostess for a thousand events
- Advisor and counselor extraordinaire on my business and political activities
- An entrepreneur
- An artist
- An expert on health, nutrition, wellness
- Fluent in Spanish and French
20 years ago, Elaine suffered a major stroke that paralyzed her left side requiring her to move into an assisted living facility partway between our home and my office.
I visited her 3-4 times a week and always on Sunday, which I called our date day. When I would arrive in her apartment usually the Catholic channel, EWTN, was on and she would keep it on until she went to sleep.
In recent years, she had developed a large kidney stone that needed to be removed. She had a medical procedure last Thursday to remove the stone; however, it was highly infected and the infection quickly spread throughout her body, and she died peacefully 2 days later surrounded by her family.
Again, we were blessed to have two days with her saying our goodbyes. This is a blessing many people don’t have.
Elaine was frequently described as beautiful, loving, kind, thoughtful, intelligent, caring, a truly deep soul, and if kindness had a picture in the dictionary, it would have been hers.
I couldn’t have done a fraction of whatever I’ve achieved without Elaine by my side.
I am convinced that God chose her for me.
God is as real to me as you are sitting or standing now. All my life I’ve not just gone up to the cliff, I’ve gone over the cliff and God has pulled me back. And when God pulled me back Elaine was there by my side.
Elaine’s life made a huge positive impact for me, our family, the conservative movement, and America.
Now, our granddaughter Shannon Kelley wants to share some of her remembrances of her grandmother, Elaine.
Remarks by: Shannon Kelley
September 4, 2026
Thank you all for being here. For those of you who don’t know me, I am the youngest granddaughter of my grandparents. My sister Megan and I were fortunate enough to grow up just down the road from them, which meant we had the privilege of soaking up their wisdom throughout our lives.
For those of you who knew my grandmother, you knew almost immediately just how intelligent she was. She was an avid lover of the English language—in my mind, she practically had a Ph.D. in it. She also had a deep love for the arts, including an incredible talent for painting. Many of her paintings were created while her children were young and sleeping, when she could finally find a little stillness and let her hands go to work creating some of these masterpieces you see here today.
But she had an especially profound appreciation for poetry. She was constantly reciting poems like Maud Muller, and she knew countless others by heart—not simply because she had memorized the words, but because she understood them. She was a deep thinker, and I think poetry spoke to her soul in a very special way.
I think my grandmother understood something that many of us grapple with—that sometimes we simply don’t have the words to convey the depth of what we feel. Perhaps words are simply a vessel, carrying what is in one person’s heart into the hearts of others.
My grandfather chose one of her favorite poems for me to read today. As I read it, I hope you allow yourself not just to hear the words, but to feel them. And perhaps, through words that once touched her soul so deeply, we can feel a little bit of her presence touching ours.
This is The Touch of the Master’s Hand by Myra Brooks Welch.
'Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But held it up with a smile.
"What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,
"Who'll start the bidding for me?"
"A dollar, a dollar. Then two! Only two?
Two dollars, and who'll make it three?"
"Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;
Going for three…" But no,
From the room, far back, a grey-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;
Then wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening the loosened strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet,
As a caroling angel sings.
The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said: "What am I bid for the old violin?"
And he held it up with the bow.
"A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two?
Two thousand! And who'll make it three?
Three thousand, once; three thousand, twice,
And going and gone," said he.
The people cheered, but some of them cried,
"We do not quite understand.
What changed its worth?" Swift came the reply:
"The touch of the Master's hand."
And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd
Much like the old violin.
A "mess of pottage," a glass of wine,
A game — and he travels on.
He is "going" once, and "going" twice,
He's "going" and almost "gone."
But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought
By the touch of the Master's hand.
Remarks by Shannon Kelley continued: Anyone who knows me knows that I love to giggle and laugh, and I think some of that came from her. My grandmother had the sweetest laugh, and some of my favorite memories of her are the moments when we were all laughing so hard that we were crying.
She especially loved when my mom (Michelle Kelley) would dance for her. She would ask Alexa to play a song—something like “Downtown” or “In the Navy”—and my mom would start dancing around the room. Before long, all three of us would be laughing so hard we could barely breathe. Those are such simple memories, but they are some of the ones I treasure most.
My grandmother was a dancer herself. I remember sitting on the deck at the farm with her and my sister, listening to music, and her teaching the two of us how to dance. I don’t even remember exactly what the dance was called anymore—I just remember her teaching us the steps and the three of us moving around together.
And I think that is one of the beautiful things about life. We remember the big things—the wisdom someone gave us, the things they taught us, the art they created—but we also remember these tiny moments. A song playing. Dancing in the living room. Sitting outside together. The sound of someone's laugh.
Those are the pieces of my grandmother that I know I will carry with me.
And I hope that whenever I laugh a little too loudly, dance when a good song comes on, read a beautiful poem, or find a quiet moment to create something with my own hands, there will always be a little bit of her in me.
