Elva Laura Petska

Elva lived a full and fascinating life. She was born April 23, 1925 in Ord, Nebraska to Wilhelm and Laura Bremer Fuss, the youngest of their four daughters. She was raised on a farm where she was regularly harassed by the family’s rooster when she went to gather eggs. At the age of 17 she ran away from that rooster to Texas to meet up and marry her high school sweetheart, Jerry Petska, Jr. who had joined the Army Air Force. It was 1943.

For the next 45 years, she chased her dream of seeing the world and see it she did. When she and Jerry had been married 25 years she wrote him a poem in which she reflected that in those 25 years they had lived in 33 different locations. There would be more to come. Elva travelled the world from Nebraska to Texas and from England to Thailand and multiple locations between, thanks to the frequent reassignments required by Jerry’s military service at that time. Elva went everywhere Jerry did except to Greenland. Everywhere she went, Elva immersed herself in her new culture: learning new skills; exploring new venues and ideas; and always involving herself in service to her church community and the community theatre.

In the 50’s she saw the coronation of Queen Elizabeth and then a few years later in Montana, Elva was crowned “Mrs. Great Falls.” In the 60’s, while living in Hawaii, she got involved in the health food craze and began making her family a concoction that was the forerunner of today’s smoothies. She called it Tiger’s milk. We all had to drink it except Dad who never embraced health food. It may have been good for us, but it tasted wretched! Her next passion was learning to paint with oils. Fortunately, this distracted her from making as much Tiger’s milk. She studied painting under one of Hawaii’s renowned local artists, and became quite accomplished. Her paintings won many county fair ribbons. She would continue to paint into her 80’s.

She had many other interests and hobbies. A favorite activity was going to yard sales, estate sales and bargain stores to find antique items she could refinish or reupholster. Her searches - with no GPS - in those days, would often frustrate drivers behind when she would suddenly stop or change direction. “How can I give a signal when I don’t know which way I need to go?”

She designed, created and sewed costumes and clothing for herself and her girls. She created beautiful quilts and other fabric crafts. She is often imagined with a paintbrush in one hand and a sewing needle in the other. She was always moving and when she would finally sit down to drink her coffee and work her crosswords, there was a cat in her lap.

In 1969, Jerry and Elva retired to Virginia settling first in Hampton. Two years later they bought a small farm in Lanexa and started Blue Star Orchard, which was reputed to have the best peaches in the County. They built their first home there together overlooking Diascond Creek. Elva lived in that home until the day she died. Many happy times were shared there with family and friends. When grandchildren came to visit she would take them to the bank of the creek to dig for treasure rumored to have been buried there during the Civil War. They were delighted to find treasures of pottery pieces and apothecary bottles!

A lively conversationalist, Elva had a no-nonsense approach to life, speaking her mind, often abruptly, but her sense of humor and infectious laugh would disarm - in an instant - anyone who might take an offense. She had a little sign in her family room saying: “Remember, by all outward appearances, we appear to be a normal family!”

Elva is survived by her three children: Lee Kofahl (Victor), Lynne Allison (Sidney), and Mark Petska (Cheryl); seven grandchildren: Jason Allison, Shannon Petska, Tracy Gue, Holly Andersen, Damian Daniels, Luke Daniels and Jill Andrews; nine great-grandchildren: Mason Allison, Bella Stone, Charles Andersen, Kenadie Daniels, Hannah, Olivia, and Violet Andrews, Samuel and Rachael Ashton; and one great-great-grandchild: Emma.

At a future date Elva will follow Jerry one last time and her remains will join his in Arlington National Cemetery. A private family graveside service will take place at that time.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy take the form of a donation made to your favorite charitable organization in her honor.

Philippians 3:20-21:

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

Revelation 2:10b:

Be thou faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life.