Elinore Eileen Coleman was born on April 12, 1931 to two loving parents, Harvey and Sarah Witherspoon in Glenboro, Manitoba. She grew up in Glenboro until a search for work brought her to Souris where she would meet the love of her life, Cecil. The first time she met Cecil was at the ticket booth where Elinore was buying a ticket to go home. Cecil swore he had never seen anyone quite so beautiful. A few days later when he saw Elinore walking down the street, a simple “hello” from her had him hooked. He later tracked her down at a dance and asked her out on their first date. After many walks across the Souris bridge, they fell in love. After two years of courting, they were married in Glenboro on June 26, 1952 and started their life together in Whitewood, a life filled with love and memories for their 62 years of marriage. During these 62 years together, they had three baby girls, Jocelyn, Karen and Tara, followed by their only son, Lee.

Elinore was a homemaker while Cecil was away working for CP Rail. In 1971 they made the big decision to invest in Miller’s Department Store so they could spend more time together. They worked alongside each other for 22 years. During this time, they raised their grandson, Chris.

In 1975 Elinore proved her fighting spirt when she was diagnosed with and survived breast cancer. It came back years later and she fought and survived it again.

Elinore and Cecil loved to travel and camp. In the beginning they loved to camp in the back of their Toyota truck, until 1979 when they purchased their own motorhome. In this motorhome they took their first big trip to Alaska, which Elinore always talked about in the years that followed. They would also love to take their grandchildren on their camping trips.

Elinore loved to be surrounded by family and friends, enjoyed participating in the community, and took any opportunity to take part in family get-togethers. She was one of the chartered members of the Whitewood branch of the Royal Purple Club until it closed. She also participated in the Women’s Aid club. Elinore took a lot of pride in participating in the church choir, church Sunday school, and countless church activities. She loved going to dances and attending dinner theatres with Cecil and their friends. She was eager to attend as many of her grandchildren's events as possible, even those dreaded Christmas concerts the family would drag her to. When it came to family, she was always eager to be there for the biggest moments and achievements. Elinore’s door was always open to visitors, offering a hot cup of coffee and a room to stay.

Elinore loved to walk, especially to coffee where she would visit with her girlfriends and get caught up on the recent happenings in town. She may have been a small woman, but boy could she eat! Anytime there were family gatherings, Elinore was always able to eat two times her body weight. At any of these family get-togethers, Elinore would always want to be the last one there, wanting to spend as much time with everyone as she could. In their later years, Elinore and Cecil made regular weekly outings to White Bear where they would spend time catching up with people that they hadn't seen in years and meeting new people. They would enjoy the few hours of entertainment before making their venture back home.

Left to mourn her passing is her dear husband, Cecil; her daugher Jocelyn (Bryan), children Chad (Shauna), Jeff (Cindy) and Megan; grandchildren Jeremy, Ian, Alysha, Matt and Garett; daughter Karen (Richard), children Chris (Tracy), James (Nichola), Tim (Shantell) and Sarah; grandchildren Cain, Austin, Ceejay, Haley, Kearin, Kianna, Dominic, Ashlyn, Kai, Samantha, Damon, Lucas, Kaden; daughter Tara (Darcy), children Tricia (Bruce), Travis (Jennifer), Lance (Jill), Zach (Shelby); grandchildren Trai, Preston, Eden, Piper; son Lee (Sheri), children Amanda (Travis) and Keagan; grandchild Tessa. She was predeceased by her parents Harvey and Sarah Witherspoon; her sister Elaine Brogden; her brothers Glen and Pat Witherspoon; and her son-in-law Bill Jones.

Elinore was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, a dear sister, sister-in-law, aunt, cousin, friend and neighbour. She will be dearly missed by her family and friends. Rest in peace, Elinore.