Elaine Stein of Hermiston passed away in Hermiston on Aug. 16, 2021 at the age of 86.
She was born on Oct. 15, 1934 in Osborne County, Kan. to Earl and Cora Bratton Sherley.
Elaine grew up in a little house on the Kansas prairie and moved with her family to Oregon in the late 1940s. The family stopped in Sumpter for a short time before settling in Wallowa. She attended and later graduated from Wallowa High School. She then attended Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls, where she received training to be a lab technician. After college she moved to La Grande, where she lived for most of her adult life. She worked as a lab technician and x-ray technician at St. Joseph and Grand Ronde hospitals. She later worked as a bookkeeper for the family business, Steins Wash Haus & Dry Cleaners. After retiring in 2006 she moved to Hermiston, where she had lived for the past 15 years.
Elaine married Tom Williams in Wallowa in 1952. The couple later divorced. She married Warner Stein in La Grande on Dec. 5, 1971.
Elaine was actively involved in the La Grande community for many years with La Grande PTA, swim team, bowling league (past president), Emblem Club, Eastern Star and the Elks Lodge. She also enjoyed reading books, playing cards and knitting. But most of all she loved spending time with her grandchildren.
She is survived by her husband, Warner; nine children; 34 grandchildren; 47 great grandchildren; two great-great grandchildren; a sister, Barbara; a brother, J.B.; and many extended family members.
A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 20, 2021 at Burns Mortuary of Hermiston, 685 W. Hermiston Ave.
Burial will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 23, 2021 at Enterprise Cemetery.
To leave an online condolence for the family, please go to burnsmortuaryhermiston.com.
