Elaine Ellen Rudishauser Corsi 1939 - 2024

Elaine Ellen Rudishauser Corsi was born September 10, 1939, to Edward and Ruth Rudishauser. She was the  second of five children. Her older brother, Byron, passed July 17, 2021. She is survived by her sister, Lila Barry; brother, Edward Rudishauser; and the youngest sibling, Margaret Trotman. She is also survived by her daughters, Teresa Pearcey and Bonnie Wood; as well as her grandchildren, Mary Keller and Dillon Wood.

Elaine grew up in the cities of Hood River, Yoncalla and John Day, Oregon. As a freshman at Hood River High School, she played basketball and, upon graduating from Grant Union High School’s Class of '57, she was awarded a one-year scholarship to the University of Oregon.

Elaine was barely 20 years of age when she married a young man she met at church, Elisha James Pearcey. One year later, she gave birth to her older daughter, Teresa.

In her own words:

“The same year my first born had to have major surgery at age two, her sister was born and the four of us moved to Eugene, Oregon, so their dad could enhance his educational skills.”

Then, in her words:

“After 17 years of cooking, sewing, gardening, canning, housekeeping, and being with my daughters 24/7, I finally returned to working for a salary as a receptionist, then secretary and social coordinator [for] 15 years, for the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners. Then, during the next 13 years, as Office Manager at the OSU Yamhill County Extension Services. I became acquainted with a huge spectrum of different kinds of people, all of whom I took great delight in serving, except for maybe one individual. Since then, I have learned that angry people are hurting individuals, which to me is a valuable thing to understand.”

Elaine stayed with her first husband for many decades, but as his mental health declined so that he inflicted even more abuse, she finally made the decision to divorce him.

But her Happily Ever After would soon arrive, as she reports here:

“Five years after I first met Woody, we married May 4, 2003. I retired September 28, 2004. I now really enjoy the time I get to spend . . with my Silver Sneaker and Strong Women exercise friends. My best friend, however, is Woody. We make a great team. What a dream wedding that was!”

Woody and Elaine enjoyed 11 very blissful years together until he died from cancer on September 2, 2014.

No matter what adversities Elaine experienced in her life, she always found a way to see things in a positive way. Consequently, her signature trait was a broad smile and a twinkle her in eyes. Those of us who knew her will perhaps miss her hearty laugh most of all.