Elaine Elder, 86
Elaine Elder, 86, passed away peacefully on June 8, 2020, in Savannah, Missouri, with her loving family by her side.
Gertrude Elaine Forcade was born February 21, 1934 in Conway, Iowa to James Curtis and Mary Margaret Palmer Forcade. She grew up on the family farm outside Graham, Missouri and graduated from Graham High School.
Elaine was a hard worker, inside and outside the home, with a varied career, an infectious smile, and way of caring for everyone in her life…from her clients at the bank, to the customers at her restaurant, to the students and faculty at the school. But her focus was always on her family.
Elaine married Kenneth D. Probasco on October 27, 1951, and they settled in Lenox, IA. She nursed him through an extended battle with cancer and lost him on August 21, 1955. Widowed at the age of 21 with two small boys to take care of, she got a job with the First National Bank, where she eventually filled several different roles, from teller to investment advisor to tour organizer.
She took time out occasionally when her children were born, and for a time was a secretary in the Lenox Public School system, and finally retired from the bank in 1995 after working there for 28 years.
On September 14, 1956, Elaine married Eldon E. “Buster” Ewart, and together they raised four children and had 30 wonderful years together. When Buster had a massive heart attack, she rode with him in the ambulance to the hospital. She lost him on June 9, 1986.
After retiring from the First National Bank, Elaine became a partner in owning and operating the Prime Time Restaurant in Lenox before moving on to her next adventure.
For a decade, she had resisted an untiring campaign by a good friend, Howard “Beansie” Elder, with an aim toward matrimony. She finally relented and they were married on May 31, 1997. She then nursed another husband through a severe illness and lost Beansie a mere five weeks later, on July 5, 1997.
Elaine had now heard “Taps” played, sat through the three-volley rifle salute, and been handed a folded flag for three veterans who were wonderful men and husbands, and now gave up on the husband business. She moved back to the family farm and, together with her sisters, cared for their mother until she passed away on June 12, 2003. While there, she attended the Graham United Methodist Church and became a lay minister.
Elaine moved to St. Joseph, MO to be near her children and became a member of the Woodson Chapel Christian Church, where she volunteered on various committees and helped serve food to those in need during their weekly meals, finding more ways to care for others, as she always did.
She moved to Corby Place Senior Living in March, 2016 and was joined there by her sister Suzie in October, 2017. They took care of each other until she lost Suzie in February of this year.
Elaine survived two bouts with cancer in the last few years, and on top of heart trouble and other problems, they took a heavy toll. When cancer came again, after a lifetime of caring for others, she finally allowed others to help her and went into hospice at her daughter’s house in Savannah, Missouri.
Left to cherish her memories are two sisters, Dorinda DePriest of Maryville, MO, and Mary Forcade of Bolinas, CA; four children, Bob (Peggy Gitt) Probasco of Dallas, TX; Jim (Carol) Probasco of Shelbyville, TN; Brenda (Tony) Foster of Savannah, MO; and John (Anita Butler) Ewart of Stewartsville, MO; four grandchildren, eleven great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandson, and two former daughters-in-law who remained close, Joyce Probasco and Song Chu Ewart.
Memorials may be directed to the Woodson Chapel Christian Church in St. Joseph.
Elaine was cremated under the care of the Rupp Funeral Home. The family will hold a memorial service at a later date.
Online obituary and condolences may be left at www.ruppfuneral.com
