Elna Sadie Pein
104 Years: A Life that Shines !!

Elna S. Pein, age 104, was a resident at Home Place Alzheimer Care Center in Oak Harbor, Washington, at the time of her death, on May 10, 2017. She had a special love for gardening, reading, DESSERTS, & really enjoyed spending time at her great-grandchildren’s softball & baseball games, wrestling & soccer matches, & choir performances. She was 99 when she stopped driving & mowed her own lawn into her 101st year. She went into Summer Hill’s Assisted Living Community for 2 years, and thereafter, Regency of Oak Harbor’s Memory Care and Home Place.
The year Elna was born --1913-- Woodrow Wilson was President.

Other newsworthy events that year included the first intercontinental telephone line inaugurated between Berlin, Germany, & New York; 10,000 march in New York’s women’s suffrage parade. The tungsten filament, the x-ray tube, incandescent gas lamps, vitamin A & the atomic numbers were some of the discoveries made that year. The sports world boasts of the NY Athletics taking the World Series 3-1 in fifth game against the Giants; and Army, with team member Dwight D. Eisenhower, defeats Navy 22-9. Notable births -- other than that of Elna S. Piper -- include actor Lloyd Bridges, actor & comedian Red Skelton, & football coach Vince Lombardi.

Elna Sadie Pein was born to Homer & Sadie Elna Piper on March 30, 1913, in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. The youngest of five, Elna grew up on an 80-acre farm in Mount Vernon, where she enjoyed climbing trees & traversing the land [as far as she possibly dared!] She even ‘befriended’ a skunk or two, calling them ‘pets’! At only 4 years old, Elna lost her Mother; she recalls early childhood chores of standing on a chair to cook at the stove and gathering water from their well. Elna attended Mt. Vernon’s high school until the 10th grade, when she quit to assist the family.


At 19, Elna moved out of her father’s house & went to Indianapolis, where she worked at P. R. Mallory’s factory for an “insufferable” & “egotistical” man. She married him 4 years later! Around 1947, Elna moved to Phoenix with her husband & 3-year old adopted son, David. Husband, George, opened & operated the Arizona Hardwood Floor & Tile Company. Five years later, their son, Don, was born. As a young woman, Elna was active in the White Shrine Organization. She was Den Mother during her sons’ years in Cub Scouts & Boy Scouts. She ran the Concession Stand during Don’s years in Baseball. After widowed in 1964, Elna worked in the Food Service industry for Saga Foods in Arizona Bank and Arizona State University cafeterias and did catering jobs with friend, Theresa Vitale. In 1981, Elna moved to Oak Harbor with Don & his family to help raise her grandchildren.

She is survived by her son, Donald Wayne Pein & wife Donna; 5 Grandchildren (Janina & husband Mark Petty; Joanie & husband Corey Johnson; Stephanie & husband John Wright; Bethany & husband John Eide; David Pein); 12 Great-Grandchildren (Russell Montgomery; Brittany & husband Stephen Robeson; Blake Petty & Victoria Willett; Madeline & Corey Johnson; William & Lisa Eide, Elizabeth, Justin, Grace & Benjamin); 4 Great-Great-Grandchildren (Colston & Callian Robeson; Jason & Mya Montgomery) & extended families in Virginia, New York, Colorado, N. Carolina, Maryland, Texas, Oregon, Arizona, & Montana.

Elna is preceded in death by her husband, George William Pein, in 1964, at 51; her son, David Melvin Pein, 63; 4 siblings –Juan Piper, 21; Gwendolyn Brodowski, 80; Mack Piper, 92; Juanita Roberson, 102.

Elna has exemplified the Hope of her Lord throughout her life, faithfully serving Jesus with an unconditional love. God has given her a full & healthy life -- except for occasional hospital visits, she took no medications. Her great love for children was expressed her work in the Church Nursery and 2-year-old Sunday School into her late 90’s. We worshipped alongside her in church & prayer services at the Southern Baptist Church. The Lord has been her Deliverer – in life, and in death.

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