Our vault of memories, keeper of family history, biggest card shark, greatest cheerleader and the person who heard our first breaths, breathed her last on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020.
Elaine Miriam (Seubert) Kinzer was born May 24, 1941, to Henry and Irene (née Funke) Seubert, in Cottonwood.
She went to grade school at St. Joseph’s in Cottonwood and graduated from St. Gertrude’s Academy in 1959. While roller-skating at Ferdinand Gym in the summer of 1955, she met her soulmate, Marvin Kinzer. Mom wrote to dad every day while he was away in the Army. They were married June 3, 1961, in Cottonwood, at Our Lady of Help Christian Church. Their journey took them from Cottonwood to Craigmont, Oaksdale, Lapwai and finally Clarkston. In their 59 years of marriage, they had seven kids, 16 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Mom and dad are devout Catholics who have served the Church their whole life and prayed at least one rosary daily. She was a religious education catechist for more than 30 years, and they often had priests over for dinner and cards.
Mom enjoyed working next to dad. Farming, trucking and ranching. We all remember the many hot meals delivered to the whole crew during harvest. She was known amongst the cattle-hauling community as the “cow whisperer.” When loading cattle, you could hear her say, “Come on ladies, load up!” When she wasn’t with dad, she always had a crochet hook in her hand, crocheting afghans for any special occasion or just in case someone was having a baby. She worked on many different craft projects. Embroidery, rosary making and during Christmas, visitors would enjoy her holiday candies and cookies. If anyone needed supplies for a project, mom had it in her purse or craft room. She always had her “extra kids” at the house and treated them like her own. Anyone who stopped by could expect to have a piece of pie and a story about her entertaining family. She cherished her many friends, classmates and all the people they met while in the truck.
Mom is survived by her husband, Marvin; us kids, Kim (Dave) McConnon, Don (Cindy) Kinzer, Mike Kinzer, Cindy (Chris) Currin, Doug (Sandy) Kinzer, Rich Kinzer and Mandy (Jason) Taylor; grandkids Zack, Tyler, Andrew, Kyley, Dillon, Houston, Gunnar, Shane, Justin, Kelli, Craig, Zane, Race, Megan, Solomon and Zelie; great-grandkids Phoebe, Sadie, Seth, Chloe, Kinley and Asher; three sisters, Irma Haldane, Betty (Lew) McArthur and Christy (Phil) Bowman; brother Edwin (Judy) Seubert; brothers and sisters-in-law; and many beloved nieces and nephews.
Mom was preceded in death by her parents, Henry and Irene Seubert; mother- and father-in-law; sister Carol Hotlzclaw; brothers Bill and Jerry Seubert; nieces Sandra Holtzclaw and Bethany Bowman; nephews Kenny and David Haldane; grandkids Catlin McConnon and the Taylor babies, Blaise, Clare, Mathias, Catherine and Abraham.
A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Holy Family Catholic Church, 1109 Chestnut St., Clarkston. A rosary will be prayed at 10:30 a.m. There will be a procession to Vineland Cemetery following the service. A reception will be held at the church hall following the burial.
Special thanks to Amy and Connie from Elite Home Health, for their loving care of mom. Donations can be made in her memory to Holy Family Catholic School or St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
Service Information
- Date & Time
- Saturday, February 29, 11:00 AM
- Location
-
Holy Family Catholic Church
1109 Chestnut Street
Clarkston, Washington 99403
Get Directions - Additional Details
- Burial will follow at Vineland Cemetery
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