11/19/2018
Elizabeth Anne (Kurtz) Elliott, 101 of Indianapolis passed from this world to the next on Monday November 19, 2018.
She was born on Tuesday September 11, 1917 to Arthur and Hazel (Williams) Kurtz in Indianola, IA.
She was preceded in death by her loving husband Owen Elliott, parents Arthur and Hazel (Williams) Kurtz, sister Jeanne (Kurtz) Allen, brother Allen Chandler Kurtz.
She is survived by her daughters Joyce Johnson, Marijane Harvey, & Jolene Elifritz, brother John Kurtz, 8 grandchildren, 11 great grandchildren and extended family and friends.
Elizabeth’s legacy is in the gift of music which she generously gave throughout her life — as a piano teacher in her home while raising a family, and as organist at the First Methodist Church in Knoxville, IA, for 35 years. In mid-life, she entered Central College in Pella, IA as a freshman and graduated with a B.A. in music — the only middle-aged student on the campus. She went on to teach music in the public schools in Pleasantville, IA and Monroe, IA before retiring with her husband to travel.
Together she and Owen visited Hawaii, Mexico and Europe and wintered in Florida. After Owen’s untimely passing at age 58, she continued to travel throughout North America with the Airstream travel club well into her 80s, when she settled in Florida. After that, she continued to volunteer as a choral director and vocal soloist in her retirement community, and to sing in the Methodist church choir in Leesburg, FL. In 2011 she moved to Indianapolis to be near her daughter there.
Elizabeth’s love of God, expressed in her music, is at the heart of her personal journey. She was a wife, homemaker and mother who stepped out in faith to pursue God’s higher call to service while balancing the traditional female roles of her generation.
Her achievements and exceptional commitment to developing her God-given gifts and talents provided inspiration to many younger women who came of age in the 1960s.
Her story continues to live in the hearts and lives her family, friends and the many students she touched throughout her long life.
Many thanks go out to the care team at Lakeview Manor and The Hospice Group of Indianapolis for the love and attention they poured out to her in the last years. Elizabeth’s family will celebrate her life at a later date in Knoxville, IA.
She is missed by all who knew and loved her.
Published on December 3, 2018
Knoxville, Iowa Journal Express