Elaine Katharine Elliott was an educator her entire life. Born November 9, 1946, in Turlock, she crossed the Atlantic Ocean at the age of one with her parents Richard and Alpha Anderson, missionaries in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. From her earliest years, she helped her mother teach literacy to the young women of the surrounding villages. Elaine spent her childhood helping young women learn to read, and traveling by dirt roads to and from the Ubangi Academy boarding school, where she received her early education.
Elaine returned to the U.S. as a teen and graduated from Turlock High School in 1964, while the rest of her family returned to the Congo. She continued her education in nursing, graduating from Highland School of Nursing, Oakland, as an R.N. in 1968. At the outset of her career as a medical professional, she continued working in ministry, teaching the children of migratory farm workers in Merced.
After the death of her mother Alpha in 1970, Elaine returned to the Congo with her father, working as a math teacher and nurse to the neighboring villages. She returned to work as a nurse in Turlock, and married Stephen Dale Elliott on April 29, 1972. They would be married for the next 51 years.
Elaine continued nursing and parenting her children Elizabeth (1973) and Noah (1975) with Steve, who served as a local church pastor. She was actively involved in the work of the church, including children’s and women’s ministries. In the early ‘80’s Elaine found her calling to hospice nursing, and she spent the rest of her life escorting patients “across the front porch and through the door” to the next life. She never stopped teaching along the way.
After a lifetime of living in one place and another, Elaine and Steve moved to their home on Autumn Moon Way in Turlock. They spent 22 years together in that home, where Elaine enjoyed working, raising her grandchildren, caring for the great-grandparents, and traveling with her husband. Elaine died peacefully after an extended illness surrounded by her closest family on January 10, 2023.
Elaine is survived by her husband Stephen, daughter Elizabeth (John) Claes, son Noah Elliott, brothers Philip (Mary) Anderson, Paul (Kathy) Anderson, and Ronald (Carol) Erickson, sister Gloria (Daniel) Grell, and grandsons Jack and Elliott, as well as numerous in-laws, nephews, nieces, cousins, and friends.
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