Elaine Ellen (Rudishauser) Corsi Obituary
Elaine Ellen Rudishauser Corsi was born to Edward and Ruth Rudishauser on September 10, 1939. The second of five children, her older brother Byron passed July 17, 2021. She is survived by her sister Lila Barry, 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.
In her own words:
“Although I graduated from high school with a one-year scholarship to the U of O, I never used it. Severe health issues incapacitated my father, and I was beginning to realize that I had health problems of my own. Finding employment in a very small town was nearly impossible; however, the Christmas rush changed that when I was hired at the John Day Five and Dime store. There, I learned how to stack a whole lot more onto shelves that were already fully loaded with merchandise. I soon gained my boss’s respect to the point of being chosen to open and close the store, count the till, and bank the cash while he was on vacation. Later I accepted a position offered to me at Scott’s Furniture where I managed the office, kept the books, wrote contracts, etc. for one full year until I decided to become a full-time mom . . .”
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 oldest daughter, Teresa.
Again, 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. Four years later, while we were living in Portland, I began to home school our two daughters and I continued to do so after moving into Yamhill County, where, as a family, we frequently went motorcycling in the coastal mountain areas from McMinnville to Forest Grove [and] all the way over to the coast.”
Elaine took her job as full-time mother seriously, taking on just about everything a full-time mother might do including growing organic gardens, sewing clothes for her family, baking bread, canning fruits and vegetables, managing the family finances, homeschooling her children and, of course, bandaging skinned knees.
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, it was my pleasure to enhance my gardening, food preservation, and family community leadership skills as Office Manager at the OSU Yamhill County Extension Services. Between these last two occupations, I became acquainted with a huge spectrum of different kinds of people all of which 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 had a hard life, suffering various forms of abuse, both as a child and as an adult. She 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. Although I planned to remain employed until age 70 or 75, the daily commute from Hillsboro to McMinnville became too difficult so I retired September 28, 2004. I now really enjoy the time I get to spend working in the nice sized yard we have, as well as exercising 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 eleven very blissful years together until he died from cancer on September 2, 2014.
Elaine had wanted to be a music teacher before she embarked upon life as a mother and a full-time homemaker. And even though her subsequent careers in planning and education, also took her away from that original dream, her affinity for music showed up in many other ways. She played the accordion for her family and the piano for her church. She also sang in her church choir. As Elaine succumbed to debilitating dementia prior to her death, music remained her greatest joy. Singing would always put a smile on her face and light up her heart in a big way.
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.
