Elaine Pearl Davis, 83, passed away peacefully at home on May 19, 2025, near Ellicott, Colorado. She was born to Elvid Monroe Lawrence and Florine Inez (Meseraull) on January 29, 1942, in Golden, Colorado, the middle of three daughters.
The family later moved to the Brighton area and then out to the rolling hills full of pine trees south of Kiowa, Colorado, to ranch and dairy. She took care of the household while her parents worked and she graduated from Kiowa High School.
After graduation, she did office work in Denver, while dating Wilbur Davis of Boyero, Colorado, who drove 100 miles to see her on weekends.
After being wed in Hugo, on January 9, 1960, they were happily married for over 65 years. Wilbur became the JOD Ranch foreman running 800 cow-calf pairs by 1965, and Elaine was the ranch receptionist, bookkeeper, handyman, and branding cook.
When JOD sold to Robert C. Norris in 1971, and then when they moved to T-Cross Ranch at Ellicott, Colorado, in 1981, she kept up with doing all of the behind-the-scenes work.
Wilbur and Elaine leased neighbor’s land to run their own little herd of beef cattle, and Elaine was the main caretaker of those cattle.
In 2015, Wilbur retired from T-Cross, and they bought their first home about 10 miles away, where they knew the weather was generally pretty good and they could still have a beautiful view of Pikes Peak.
While at Boyero, Elaine was the leader of the Kountry Kids 4-H Club for over 10 years, was a member of the Lincoln County Cowbelles, and was involved with her 2 children’s Hugo school activities.
She loved playing the piano, tended to a huge garden from which she canned vegetables, raised enough chickens to supply eggs and some meat for the family, churned butter from the cows milk, and kept up with a large yard that had many flowers and trees.
She enjoyed going to her kids and grandkids games throughout the years and spending time with all of the family at annual summer vacations.
Elaine will be greatly missed by her 2 children, Terry Best (Darvin) of Roswell, NM, and Roger (Dale) Davis of La Junta, CO. Her 3 grandchildren, Lee (Mariah) Davis and Annie Davis of La Junta, CO, and Katie (Doug) Gossett of Johnstown, CO. Her 8 great-grandchildren, Rachel, Ezra, Nathan, and Caleb Davis, and Levi, Bryer, Kyra, and Sawyer Gossett.
She was preceded in death by her parents of Bennett, CO, and both of her sisters, Jean Schol of Minatare, NE, and Kathy Vetter of Rawlins County, KS.
A special thank you to her niece, Denise (Vetter) Cozza of Rawlins County, KS, for her thoughtfulness.
Elaine’s celebration of life will occur on-site when her ashes are lovingly placed on the family ranch shaded by a tree with a view of Pikes Peak in the late fall after her granddaughter Annie returns from Alaska.
In lieu of flowers and donations, the family requests that her friends honor her by doing the things she enjoyed.