Elaine Emelda Lewis

Elaine Emelda Lewis was a modest woman, quiet and observant in her ways. She was trustworthy and traditional in her approach to her life and in her relationships. She was tough-minded with the kind of “stick to it” attitude that earned the respect of all who knew her. She was also a woman who was meticulous, carefully disciplined, and orderly in virtually everything she undertook. Realistic about life, she was always at the ready, prepared to take on responsibility.

Elaine was born on March 16, 1929 at Baton Rouge General Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisana. Her parents were Leon and Myrtle Walker. Elaine was raised in Baton, Rouge, LA. She was brought up to be self-confident and dependable. These were traits that would serve her well throughout her life.

Growing up in the Lewis household was a bit different than most homes. There were good times to be had, but just as often there was a fair share of challenges as well. However, Elaine was able to work through the usual family problems when they appeared, and she was the one person in the family who seemed able to keep the stress at bay. Elaine was raised with two siblings. She had a younger brother Leon Jr., and an older sister Eloise Walker. Elaine was constantly involved in activities with her brothers and sisters. Elaine and her siblings may have had the typical rivalries while growing up but Elaine was always consistently loyal to her family.

While her teachers and even her friends generally thought of Elaine as being a serious person, she managed to have a pretty good time in high school as she made that critical transition from adolescence to adulthood. She graduated from McKinley High School in 1945. She enjoyed some courses more than others, having favorite classes and teachers. Her favorite class in high school was math and reading. Elaine was a very logical person who enjoyed learning about factual information. Using her exceptional memory, she was able to learn much through observation. Elaine always seemed to have a command of the facts and was able to make it seem as though she could easily master any problem that might be presented to her.

College life brought with it a new set of challenges, but Elaine handled them well. Being a critical thinker who always remained intellectually independent, Elaine was able to focus on the task at hand in order to complete her class work. She seemed to thrive on college reading assignments, something that often bogged down her classmates. Elaine was able to read the material and retain the information in a way that impressed her fellow classmates. The ability to efficiently complete the task at hand was a skill that served Elaine well during her college experience. She earned her Associate of Arts. She also pursued graduate school, earning her RN at Southwest. Her favorite courses were Biology and Chemistry.

Always considered to be a solid friend, Elaine was fortunate to have numerous acquaintances and several very close friends during her life. Since she disliked making generalizations about people and preferred to draw her own conclusions based on direct observation, Elaine was able to see beneath the surface of relationships and became a true friend to those who knew her. She was committed to her friends and valued the trust she placed in them. It was not uncommon for Elaine to go beyond the call of duty for others, and friends frequently sought her out for advice because she had a knack for coming up with practical solutions to any type of dilemma. While growing up, some of her best friends were May Hendricks and Margarete Bienville. Later in life, she became friends with Dotty, Teresa and Margarite.

On January 1, 1964 Elaine exchanged wedding vows with Bengamin R. Lewis at the Cady's Wedding Chapel of Los Angeles, CA. Compassionate and devoted to Benjamin, Elaine held endearing, traditional values about marriage and family life. She took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it her total commitment. She was a source of strength to Benjamin and using her gifts at nurturing one-on-one relationships, she worked hard to make her new family happy.

Elaine brought the same traditional values in her marriage to bear on how she raised her children. She was a good parent to them, always firm yet fair in her dealings. She would always listen carefully and think things through before she acted, even when it was an adverse situation. Elaine was also a walking schedule, always seeming to know what everyone in the family needed to do, where they needed to be and when they needed to be there. Elaine was blessed with three children, Donald, Ronald and Larry Paulfrey. They were also blessed with two grandchildren, Parris and Malisa.

Elaine greatly enjoyed what she did for a living. She was a hard worker who expected the same in return from her co-workers. She was skilled at working effectively in small groups and in one-on-one situations as well as handling solo assignments efficiently. Elaine enjoyed dealing with concrete ideas and could penetrate any amount of fuzzy information to reach the essential facts. Always able to attend to the task at hand, Elaine was excellent at meeting deadlines. She was an efficient worker, one who paid careful attention to detail, allowing sufficient time to complete one task before moving on to the next. Her primary occupation was a Nurse. She was employed as a Candy Striper, Nursing Assistant, and a RN at Kaiser Permanete in Los Angeles, CA. Elaine worked hard to be a team player, doing what was necessary in order to get the job done.

Elaine liked to experience things first-hand as well as learn about them. This trait carried over into her hobbies, where she was very methodical in how she organized her activities and categorized things. Since she enjoyed her private time, Elaine always tried to allocate a specific time for working on her hobbies. Her favorite pursuits were collecting dolphins, bingo, puzzles, planting roses, reading, cooking and family gatherings. Elaine was content to enjoy her hobbies alone but was also willing to share her interests with others.

As a woman who always showed great commitment to the things she believed in, it’s little wonder that Elaine was so active in her community. Being practical and mentally disciplined, Elaine preferred to base her decisions on first-hand experiences. Elaine was never afraid to roll up her sleeves and dig right in. Elaine was a member of several community groups, including serving on committees for the Desert Horizon's Neighborhood Watch.

Elaine was a woman who was dedicated and devoted to her faith. She was a member of the Catholic Church all of her life. She was a sympathetic woman who valued her beliefs and was willing to work tirelessly for them.

Elaine enjoyed traveling and taking vacations. Since she was an early starter and had a knack for planning everything, traveling with Elaine appeared effortless. She enjoyed researching all of her examined options and applying cost-effective planning techniques. Plus, no matter where she traveled, Elaine always had a back up plan at the ready, just in case. Favorite vacations included Azores, Okinawa, Korea, Japan, New Orleans and New Mexico.

Elaine was a lover of animals and cherished her pets. One of Elaine’s favorites was Bruno, a Cocker Spaniel; Dynamite, a Shepard; Alex, a Chihuahua/Jack Russel Terrior mix; and Satin, a Doberman. They were best friends for 16 years.

When Elaine’s retirement finally arrived in 1999, she was well prepared. She always trusted and placed value in what was logical and in the things she knew, so she was very confident in planning her retirement. She had begun the process early and had her retirement all laid out well in advance. Her new life involved relocating to Los Angeles and Las Vegas. In retirement, she found new pleasure in Bingo and Poker Machines. Even in retirement, Elaine continued to stay in touch with her old friends while making plenty of new acquaintances. She was active in her new community and felt fulfilled.

Elaine Emelda Lewis passed away on February 29, 2012 at Nathan Adelson Hospice. Elaine fought a brave battle against cancer. She is survived by spouse, Benjamin R. Lewis; Sons, Donald, Ronald, and Larry Paulfry; and Grandchildren, Malisa and Parris Paulfrey. Services were held at Palm Mortuary. Elaine was laid to rest in Inglewood Cemetery, Inglewood, CA.

Commitment is a key word that can be used to describe the life of Elaine Emelda Lewis. She was committed to living the life of a good woman who was both practical and trustworthy. She was committed to the traditional values that she upheld her entire life. She committed herself to being a hard worker who expected the same effort in return from those around her. Most of all, she was committed to those she knew and loved.

Arrangements under the direction of Palm Downtown Mortuary, Las Vegas, NV.