Elaine Riewe Noack

Elaine Ruth (Riewe) Noack passed into the arms of her Lord on July 27, 2018.  She was a loved and loving wife, mother, sister and grandmother.  Her services will be at 10 a.m., Wednesday, August 1, 2018, at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 800 N. New Road in Waco.  Visitation will be at the church prior to the service. A short graveside service will follow at Chapel Hill Memorial Park.

Elaine was born in 1927 in Pottsville, Texas, into a farming family and life.  While she didn’t realize her goal to become a nurse, she helped care for all those in her family at the age of 12 after her mom died.  She volunteered to help family, friends and those less fortunate whenever she could and contributed in so many ways to all of the church communities she was part of.  She preferred simple living, always making the most of what was available to make the world around her more pleasing to the eyes and the heart.  She sold cosmetics for many years, ran a small convenience store, and then a neighborhood diner.  She spent many years as a grade school teacher’s aide in Waco, freely giving hugs and love to many children who might not receive them at home. She was a dedicated driver and coordinator for Meals and Wheels at Christ Lutheran Church for many years.  Throughout all of her life she created paintings, homey wall hangings, quilts and clothes, and generally decorated, refinished and repurposed everything she could around her home.  She took particular pride in the angels she’d collected to decorate her shelves.  She will be remembered for her creative observations and questions, and for a dry wit that tickled so many (and challenged a few.) More memorable still will be that when anyone asked, “How are you, Elaine?” she would most often reply, “Grateful.”

Elaine was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years, Alfred; parents, Edmund and Henrietta Riewe; sister, Evelyn Limmer; and brother, Marvin Riewe. She is survived by her son, Ray; son, Don and daughter-in-law, Libby; her sister, Adaline Bufe; her granddaughter, Jennifer Roark and husband, Kevin; great grandsons, Dillon and Kaiden; her step granddaughter, Jessica Thomas, and many nieces, nephews, and their children.

The family thanks Elaine’s many caregivers: a wonderful neighbor, Hong; Home Instead Senior Care; Southern Care Hospice; and countless friends. The family asks that donations in her memory be given to Caritas of Waco, Clifton Sunset Home, or Lutheran World Relief.