Elegie DiFilippo LoCascio was born in Chicago on October 16, 1942. She attended Chicago public schools and graduated from Bowen High School. After high school, she double majored in English and Spanish at Northern Illinois University (NIU) and graduated in 1964.

Elegie taught English at Thornridge High School for one year, and then in 1965, she married Joseph LoCascio. The couple went on to earn their master's degrees in English at Northern Illinois University and eventually settled permanently in DeKalb. Elegie and Joseph had two children, Jeanne and Michael, and six grandchildren.

Elegie was an English and Spanish teacher at DeKalb High School for many years, a place where many students loved her. Among her achievements, Elegie received a grant to teach in Spain over the summer of 1994. She was awarded the Wirtz Award for Distinguished Teaching, co-directed study trips to Greece, and was instrumental in founding the Summer Migrant Program at DeKalb High School.

After she retired in 2002, she enjoyed traveling with her husband and volunteering with organizations such as Hospice Care, Meals on Wheels, Country Store Thrift Shop, and serving as president of the Oakcrest Retirement Center board. 

Fitness was important to Elegie. She exercised every day at the YMCA, and at the age of 60, she completed the Chicago Marathon.

In 2013, the Locascio's created the Joseph & Elegie LoCascio Scholarship Fund. The scholarship is given annually to a DeKalb High School senior that has shown outstanding dedication to the art of creative writing and plans to attend college.

Elegie DiFilippo LoCascio passed away on April 26, 2018, at the age of 75. Her memory lives on through the lives she touched, the community she served, and the impact she continues to make in the name of education.