March 19, 1925 – April 19, 2021
Elaine Georgia Polits Elsberry was with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on April 19, 2021 at the age of 96.
She was the daughter of James W. and Verna (Harkness) Polits, born on March 19, 1925 in Portland, Oregon. Elaine Polits left home at the age of 15 to enroll at Miltonvale Wesleyan High School in Miltonvale, KS, where she met her future husband, Clayton Perry Elsberry. After her Associates Degree in Theology from Miltonvale Wesleyan College, Elaine enrolled at Marion College in Marion, IN, and left school after one semester to return to Portland to prepare for her wedding, which took place on June 27, 1945 as Life Iowa / Minnesota Pastor of the Wesleyan Church. Her first pastorate was in Fayette, IA, where the Church welcomed the young couple with open arms and were loved by them in return. After leaving Fayette, Clayton and Elaine’s pastoral trip took them to Des Moines and Waterloo, IA, Fridley (Roslyn Park), MN, a second call to Fayette, then to Oskaloosa, IA, followed by the Nebraska District of the District Commissioner Wesleyan Church. Elaine was a gift to the people in every church she and Clayton pastored. She was a cheerful and tireless worker who often took on unfinished business in every church. At various times she has been a Sunday School teacher, youth leader, director of the Women’s Missionary Society, choir director and, with a beautiful singing voice, soloist on Sunday mornings.
