Obituary of Elaine Covington

Charlotte Elaine Sutton was born August 13, 1939 the third child of Elmer and Cynthia Sutton. Elaine as she was better known by attended grade school at a rural school 26 miles north of Limon. Elaine’s father gave her the nickname of Punky when she was little so during her grade school years she was registered on the rolls of Washington County not knowing her real name. However before she attended high school in Genoa, Colorado she realized her real name and decided from then on out her name was going to be Elaine. Only after Elaine’s younger brother gave away the name secret did anyone ever call her Punky and then it was a matter of teasing me. Thanks John, I will get even….. Elaine graduated from Genoa High School in 1957. It was while attending Genoa High School that she met the love of her life, Russell Covington. After her first date Elaine told her mother this was the man she was going to marry. Poor Russell, he never stood a chance. Elaine and Russell were married June 29, 1957. In June 2007 50 years of marriage was celebrated with a trip to Hawaii which included their entire immediate family and two sister-in-laws. Please take time to look at the pictures taken at the time of this beautiful celebration. Elaine’s greatest source of joy was her children and grandchildren. Vianne was born in 1959 and is married to Vern Patterson and they live in Solon, OH. Their children are Andrew, Evan and Alex. Christy, born in 1963, is married to Paul Phelps and they live in Pipe Creek, TX. Their children are Gina, married to Steven Causey, Cassandra, Michelle and step-grandchildren Dustin, Nick, and Kelsey. Jeff lives in Colorado Springs with his three cats. Anytime Elaine had a chance to spend time with her family she jumped at the opportunity. She especially enjoyed “surprise” visits when they didn’t know she was coming. Elaine was especially proud of her grandchildren’s accomplishments. All are EXCELLENT students and her grandson’s are excellent musicians and her granddaughters are excellent dancers. Wow, it can’t get any better than that. Of course Elaine can’t talk about family without including the family pets. Many wonderful dogs have gone on before but the current loves of her life are Buddy and JR. Both have given her much love and enjoyment, thus their presence with us today. In Oct. of 2008 three angels from Bangladesh arrived to visit Elaine and Russ. Kamrul, Shikha and Maphara decided to stay so Kamrul could continue his education thus with their help it was possible for Elaine to remain at home thru her illness. Sweeter angels will not be found in heaven. Speaking of children, we can’t forget all of her exchange kids. These began with Bertilla back in 1979 and currently she has three attending colleges here in Colorado Jawad, Alex and Swarna. Others in between include Virginie, Beatrice, Emmanuelle, Dominique, and others. These exchange kids provided opportunities for Elaine and Russell to travel the world to visit and enjoy. What an opportunity and life experience. World peace would come a lot sooner if more people took advantage of exchange programs. Elaine’s working career consisted of 3 main jobs. She worked for Peoples Natural Gas, Mountain Bell Telephone Company, and retired from the State of Colorado where she was an officer for the Port of Entry. After retirement she enjoyed working and helping the elderly. She was forced to quit her coordinator job with ECCOG when her health took a rapid decline. She loved this job and loved the people she served in Arriba and Genoa. Elaine enjoyed so much doing for others but found it so hard to let others do for her. Elaine’s faith in God helped carry her thru life and especially thru her illness. Elaine was a devoted member of the Community of Christ Church and served over 50 years as pianist for their group in Genoa. She loved going to their local conferences and world conferences especially when her cousin Joyce could go with her. Elaine was very active in the Order of Eastern Star and was a Past Matron of Mayflower Chapter 118. She has also been an active member of the American Legion Auxiliary in Genoa. She served as president of the Hub City Senior Center for several years and served as guide for the Heritage Museum. Several years she worked as a hospice volunteer. Elaine was on the board of directors for Carla’s Cluster Care and served as secretary. She briefly served on the board for Lincoln County Home Health and Hospice but was forced to resign when her health deteriorated. Elaine and Russell liked to travel and visited many of the states, many European countries, and in 2007 traveled across the world to visit her Bangladesh family. Many times Elaine would say to Russell, “I have an idea”. Russell would just sigh and say “what now”? He knew then I was planning a trip or something. He was always very good to go along with her in her ideas even though many times he probably would have preferred to stay home. Elaine preferred to give and do for anonymously but hers and Russell’s deeds did not go unnoticed. In 2007 both received the Chuck Stone “Citizen of the Year” award given by the Limon Chamber of Commerce. This award was a TOTAL surprise to both of them and both felt unworthy of this prestigious honor. Both Elaine and Russell felt living in the small town of Limon and being able to raise their children there had been honor enough. Limon had been home for their 50 plus years of marriage. Elaine was devoted to her husband Russell. Russell had many operations and illnesses throughout their marriage but Elaine was a faithful caregiver. Russell always told people “I married a younger woman so she can take care of me in my old age”. This isn’t going to happen but she did it while she could. Sorry Russ, somehow the roles got reversed. She was preceded in death by her parents, a stillborn son born in 1961, and her older sister Eleanor Flowers of Independence, MO. Elaine is survived by her husband, 3 children, 6 grandchildren, 3 step-grandchildren, and exchange students all listed above. She is also survived by her sister Clarice Poplett (Tom) of Grand Junction brother John (Linda) Sutton of Pittstown, NJ.