Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death.
Ethel May (Tommy) Elliott passed away on Oct. 16, 2018, at the Hood River Care Center with family by her side. She was born on Hollyhock Hill, southeast of Willow Flat in the Hood River Valley, on April 4, 1929, to Oliver and Bertha McGarvin Covey. She was the youngest of three children, attending Odell grade school and Parkdale High School. She lived most of her life in the upper valley, moving from Odell when she was 7 to a small farm north of Parkdale, where she discovered her love for gardening and animals.
In 1947, she married Fred Elliott and they bought a eight-acre plot of land north of Parkdale, where they lived and raised three sons. Tommy lived there until moving to the care center in late March of this year.
Tommy worked for Duckwall Fruit for 41 years, starting in Parkdale at age 13. World War II was on and there was a shortage of labor, so child labor was used to pick and process the fruit. She enjoyed packing fruit and was very happy working for the Duckwall brothers, whom she knew personally and respected. She also had many lifelong friends she met through work.
She and Fred loved the outdoors and fished, hunted, rock hounded, picked huckleberries and camped throughout the northwest. They were both very active in the Parkdale Grange, Tommy being a member for over 60 years. She was also a member of the Parkdale VFW Auxiliary. She was always helping someone who needed a helping hand and knew few strangers. A very proud time in her life was when she had a new home built on her property in 2010 through a Measure 37 claim.
Tommy is survived by her children, Larry and his wife, Joyce, Clifford and his wife, Debra, and Randy, all living in the valley; six grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; and nieces Carla Ann Wilson and Alta Mae Wilson Rasmussen.
She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her sister Anna Bonita Covey Wilson, her brother-in-law Jim Wilson, and her brother Wilbur Lawrence Covey.
A viewing will be held on Sunday, Oct. 21 from 3-5 p.m. at Andersons Tribute Center, 1401 Belmont Ave., Hood River. Her celebration of life will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday Oct. 22, also at Andersons Tribute Center, followed by a graveside service at the Upper Valley Cemetery, 6917 Allen Road, Parkdale, and a luncheon at the Parkdale Grange.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Parkdale Grange No. 500.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.
(0) entries
Sign the guestbook.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.