Elaine Pfitzner, a lifetime servant of her Lord, passed away on 20 July 2019 after a ten-year-long illness which baffled doctors for many years. It was eventually diagnosed as Sezary Syndrome, a T Cell Lymphoma.
This full body, itchy skin condition was an ongoing challenge which she dealt with stoically and, in typical fashion, without complaint. Elaine and Peter, her husband of 52 years, spent much of those ten years travelling to and staying in Melbourne as doctors tried to diagnose her illness, and for treatments of various types.
Throughout she maintained her involvement in St Paul’s Lutheran Church at Griffith, NSW, leading services, lay reading, as Sunday School teacher for 25 years, president of the Ladies Guild organising many things especially during pastoral vacancies etc. Only Elaine could maintain such a level of service under extreme duress for so long.
Elaine Joy Linke was born in Tanunda SA, on 3 October 1944. She lived her young life in a house behind her family’s famous butchery in Nuriootpa, before marrying Peter and moving to his newly purchased farm in the Griffith area. Challenges there were: living in an old homestead with louvres letting in all the (plentiful) dust, snakes and mice, as well as the isolation and two babies, both born at harvest time (the busiest time of year) with family far away!
Elaine was one of those people who did her very best all the time. She served on the LWNSW Committee for seven years, six as secretary. Then, in the year 2000 the LWNSW was asked to form a National Committee. The state had long been members of the LWA but, as a smaller state membership-wise, had not previously been asked to administer the LWA. Elaine was the inaugural secretary. She read and sorted every piece of paper, more than two suitcases full, as well as all the more current books and records and was the one who knew ‘everything’ at the early meetings. This was a great help to the whole committee as everyone was learning ‘on the job’, and again in the administration of the National Convention held at the end of the trimester.
At her funeral we learned about the special song books she made for each of her seven much-loved grandchildren featuring “Jesus loves me”. She sang that song to them all whenever she could. A wonderful video of them, now grown, singing it to her as she lay in bed shortly before her death, was shown at her funeral service in St Paul’s, on 25 July.
Elaine was a gentle, nurturing soul, always smiling and happy, who lived a life of service at the hands and feet of Jesus as she sought to do his will throughout her life. Now she is safe and comfortable in his arms.
Meryl Packer
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