Elva Petri

Elva A. Petri was born on June 11th, 1924 to parents Lorenzo and Irma Tenny in Estacada, Oregon. She grew up in Springwater, Oregon. Elva graduated from Estacada Union High School in 1942, after graduation she pursued Beautician School. While in Beauty School, she met Kenneth, through her landlady who just happened to be his sister. Kenneth had recently returned from serving in World War II when he and Elva’s paths crossed and the rest is history. Elva adored him, referring to him fondly as her “blue eyed boy”. They got married on October 26th, 1947 and stayed together many happy years until his passing in May of 1991. Elva and Kenneth both enjoyed traveling, and many referred to them as snowbirds because they’d migrate south to Arizona for the winter.

Elva will be best remembered as a soft spoken woman with an iron will and a very loving heart. She always had time for her children and enjoyed spending every moment she could with her family. Elva rarely lost a card game and never had a bad thing to say about anyone. Her caregivers at the nursing facility always said she was known for her smile and her great sense of humor. Elva was also very good at painting ceramics, winning several awards for them. Another of many things in which she excelled at was sewing, and she was also an avid player of crossword puzzles.

Elva was predeceased by her husband, Kenneth W. Petri. She is survived by her twin sister, Elma Patterson, daughter Victoria Petri-Jones (Michael) of Portland, Oregon; Pamela Peltier (Larry) of Renton, Washington; Douglas Petri of Portland, Oregon; Katherine Petri of Reno, Nevada; 12 grandchildren, 16 great grandchildren and 6 great great grandchildren.