Elissa contracted the Gerry Addicted Lust Syndrome, from which she hopes to never recover, during her first viewing of “Phantom of the Opera” in 2004. She had never heard of Gerard Butler, but immediately took a crash course in his career courtesy of IMDB. She rented, then, purchased, every film he had appeared in as of that year. As a 50-something married woman, the world of fandom on the internet was new to her, so she was reluctant to join a fan site, fearing she wouldn’t fit in with the members, whom she assumed were all much younger, but she couldn’t have been more wrong. She happily joined the GALS FANmily in June, 2006.
In real life, Elissa is busy with a local Irish Society, The Harp and Shamrock Society of Texas, where she is the Membership Chair, and newly elected Second Vice President after serving two three-year terms on the Board of Directors. She is also a member of the San Antonio Scottish Society, Clan Gunn and Clan Keith. She enjoys ancestry research, reading, traveling, and, of course, all things Gerry!
A recently retired RN, Elissa worked in the Newborn Nursery at University Hospital for 20 years. Previously, she had a 21-year career as a high school teacher of History and Spanish.
Elissa lives in San Antonio, Texas with her husband, daughter, menagerie of cats, and two dogs: Archie (named after Archie Brown from Gerry’s first movie “Mrs. Brown”) and Luther.