Elaine Easterly Busch

Aug. 17, 1926 — Sept. 27, 2012

Elaine Easterly Busch was born to John Easterly and May Virginia (Fisher) in Iron Mountain, Mich. She passed away Sept. 27, 2012, in Placerville, Calif. While still in grade school she moved with her family to California. She attended and graduated from Roseville High School.

In the early 1950s Elaine owned and operated a restaurant on Main Street in Placerville. Later she became an account manager for Michigan Cal Lumber Company in Camino. She married Ken Busch of Camino and together they built Ken’s apple ranch into one of the early commercial kitchen/bakeries of Camino, named Grandpa’s Cellar #17. Elaine and Ken took pride in helping grow Apple Hill into what it is today.

Retiring to Mt. Aukum, Elaine’s community involvement continued. She began to live her true passion — giving back to those in need. After many years as a tireless worker of the El Dorado Food Bank, she was awarded the Volunteer of the Year award in 2008. Always the organizer, she was instrumental in forming the volunteer organization The Mt. Aukum Angels, whose mission it is to distribute food, clothing and commodities to those less fortunate in the outlying areas.

Elaine is survived by her sons, John Laning of Tijeras, N.M., Martin Still of Kneeland, Calif., and Ben Goldberg (Lori) of Tracy, Calif.; and daughters, Sandra (Doug) Thayne of Shingle Springs and Cynthia Spencer of Rocklin. She was preceded in death by her sons, Harold (Arley) Still and Edward Still. Known simply as G-G Ma, she will be missed by her numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A brother, John Easterly of Sheridan, Calif., also survives her.

In her last few months, although clear and vibrant of mind, with a keen sense of humor and always a song in her heart, Elaine worked to fight numerous health challenges. She was blessed to know and be cared for by a very dedicated and loving staff of Marshall Hospital, Western Slope and DaVita Care of Cameron Park. The dedicated nurses, aides and doctors worked with care and love to keep alive the spirit that we all knew to be Elaine. She touched many and will be missed by her family, friends, neighbors and community.

To celebrate her life, a memorial will be held in her honor at Pioneer Bible Church, 6851 Mt. Aukum Road in Somerset, Calif., on Oct. 27, at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers donations may be sent in her memory to the Food Bank of El Dorado County, 6230 Enterprise Drive, Diamond Springs, CA 95619.