Elaine Marie Annen was born, educated, worked and lived her entire life in Mount Angel, Oregon. She entered this world on January 7, 1932 the sixth of nine children of William and Margaret (Saalfeld) Annen. Elaine was twelve years old when her mother died and as the oldest female child she became matriarch of the large Annen clan. She would later talk of the difficulty of learning to use the wood cook stove; how much and what kind of wood to use for baking or cooking. She was grateful to the kindly women of the community who taught her these and many other household necessities. In the early years she would sometimes burn a meal and her father would tell her to throw it out quickly before her five older brothers learned of it as they would have teased her relentlessly. She was well known for her beautifully decorated cakes and delicious dill pickles.

After high school she went to business college and then took a job at US Bank, rising through the ranks to become vice president of the Mt. Angel Branch. She retired from US Bank in 1982. Elaine maintained her involvement with the family hop farm throughout her life. She served as executive secretary of the Oregon Hop Growers from 1964 to 1991. She became the first American woman to be knighted into the Order of the Hop at an international hop convention in Hereford, England in 1991.

In 1968 Elaine began to collect dolls. After retirement from the bank she joined a doll club and began adding to her collection in earnest. Throughout the years, many people enjoyed her collection. In 2012 she set up the Elaine Annen Doll Museum in the Mt. Angel Festhalle so her collection could live on after her.

Elaine was a devout Catholic Christian and a life-long member of St. Mary Church in Mt. Angel, where she served as lector, Eucharistic minister and faithful visitor of the sick. She belonged to the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, St. Anne's Altar Society and volunteered countless hours in the parish. She was a long-time member of the Mt. Angel Chamber of Commerce and the Mt. Angel Historical Society. For her prolific volunteer service she was recognized as the 2001 Mt. Angel First Citizen.

Elaine was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers, Joe, Ed, Vic, Flavius and Bede, her sisters Marge and Patricia, and her niece Jeanne Annen. She is survived by her brother, Thomas Annen, of Woodburn; nieces, Merry (Ray) Ballweber of Salem, Rosie (Randy) Wavra, Ruthie (Phil) Pomeroy, Susie (Tom) Kloft of Mt. Angel and Julie (Tom) Embree of Eugene; and nephews, James (Marilyn) Annen, John (Laura) Annen of Mt. Angel, Jerry Annen of Wilsonville, Bill Annen and Mark (Heather) Annen of Portland and Rob (Julie) Annen of Salem; 18 great-nieces and nephews and 2 great-great nieces.

The rosary prayer vigil will be at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 14 and the Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 15 both at St. Mary Catholic Church in Mt. Angel. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations to the Mt. Angel Historical Society.

Published in the Salem, Oregon Statesman Journal on Mar. 11, 2014.