Elaine was a graduate of Puyallup High School, Washington State University (with Honors) and received an M.S. degree from San Diego State University in Communications. After graduation from Washington State, Elaine joined the Volunteers in Service to America (domestic Peace Corps) to work in the Vista, California community. She then resumed a Postal Service career (originally started in Tacoma) in Spring Valley and San Diego Post Offices. She lived in San Diego for 10 years until her promotion to USPS Headquarters in Washington DC, where she managed major Postal Service programs in delivery, retail and marketing areas. She was the National USPS program manager for the 1990 Census, a project worth $70 million in revenue to the USPS. After brain surgery for a hemorrhaging aneurysm, she retired on a disability from the Postal Service with 23 years of service. Because she was also a musician, she chose to do volunteer work for the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, writing all the press releases. Elaine moved back to Tacoma in 2000, where she did income taxes for H &R Block. She also became involved with eBay and spent many hours on the community forums helping people with their questions and freely designing eBay pages for them. In 2005, eBay honored her with a Community Hall of Fame award -- one of 5 people to receive the award out of the hundreds of thousands of people who post to the forums. Her user ID was *zip and her ME page on shipping is one of the most oft referenced ME pages on eBay. Elaine was a former member of the Freedom Hill Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and a member of Mensa. She was also in Mortar Board, Mu Phi Epsilon music sorority and any number of honorary societies for scholarship, service and leadership. She touched the lives of many through her mentoring, volunteer work, her caring and concern for others, her élan and joie de vivre.