Elaine C. Mertz

Elaine Carteret (Nielsen) Mertz, 89, of Lancaster, Ohio, passed away Sunday, February 4, 2024, at Fairfield Medical Center. She was born August 7, 1934, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada to Baldwin Nielsen and Phyllis Squares de Carteret.

She was a lifelong learner. Elaine earned her Bachelor of Science in Education from Muskingum College, and her Masters in Behavior Disorders from Kent State University. She was a teacher for many years before becoming a case manager. Elaine was a published poet, an avid reader, a pianist, a gardener, and a puzzle expert. She could finish a word search puzzle in three minutes and always had a book of them on hand. She loved her dog, who was often referred to as her eighth child. Elaine came from a strong line of ship captains and explorers. She spoke often of her deCarteret lineage and loved to tell stories of her grandfather who was the captain of the CS Minia, which was the second ship on the site of the sinking of the Titanic and the ship that laid the Transatlantic Cable. She became a member of St. Bernadette’s Catholic Church in 2007. 

Elaine is survived by her seven children, fourteen grandchildren, and ten great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, older sister Faith Brenneman, her husband Ralph Mertz, and her former husband Edmund Thomas.