COPUS-JENKINS, Eleanor

Wickenburg Funeral Home & Crematory, Wickenburg, Arizona Eleanor Copus-Jenkins June 16, 1926 ~ August 30, 2013 ELEANOR “Ellie” COPUS-JENKINS As the monsoon thunder storms swept across the Arizona desert, they left blooming flowers, double rainbows and new life behind, and took with them Eleanor Copus-Jenkins. “Ellie” as she was better known to her family and friends, spent 43 years here in the desert, that she came to love. Eleanor Jesse Connor was born June 16, 1926, daughter of Earl and Sonna-Marie (Klingler) Conner — baby sister of Bill and Ron Conner in Lima, Ohio. Even though she and her brothers were brought up through the depression years, they were taught to share whatever they had with others, setting the stage for her lifelong generosity and compassion for others. She truly had a servant’s heart. Nickel movies and window shopping with her mother were highlights of her young life. Her greatest love was her family, but if you have ever been at the Elk’s Club, when the band played, you know one of her greatest joys was dancing. Her love for dancing came from watching her parents dance in the kitchen as a child. She passed this love onto her girls and grandkids by teaching them to jitterbug; also, in the kitchen. To this day, if a jazzy tune is played, none of them can sit still! Having found the “love of her Life” Ellie secretly married Bob Copus on August 12, 1945, and were married for 43 years. This beautiful union had to be kept a secret, because Ellie promised her mother she would graduate from high school; at that time, you couldn’t be married and attend school. When close friends said she only married him for his car, she laughed and said that he sold the car to pay for the honeymoon to Niagra Falls. Together, they had four beautiful daughters: Caroline, Charlotte, Cheri, and Christine, (the four C’s). Family members that will miss her are her brother Bill and Jeanne Conner, brother-in-law and sister-in-law Chuck and Mary Copus, 4 daughters Caroline Maier, Char Hardwick, Cheri Blakley and Christine Antrim: 8 grandchildren: Renee Maier, Dyan Allmon, Rob Maier, David Maier, Zach Hardwick, Laura Brown, Tabitha Gonzalez, and Azlin Antrim: 6 great-grandchildren: Lisa Smith, Jake Allmon, Zachery Allmon, Clayton Allmon, Genesis Maier, and Izaiah Gonzalez, 4 great-great grandchildren: Savannah, Destiny, Trinity, and Jason Daniel Smith. Her joyful love of life will be greatly missed by all. She loved, and was loved by so many. She will forever live in our hearts. After being widowed for 8 years, she married Lou Jenkins in 1997. She moved to Congress and enjoyed the sunrises over the Bradshaws and beautiful desert sunsets over the Weaver Mountains. When you think of Miss Ellie, the phrase that comes to mind is “Always elegant, and always a lady”. She would drink even water out of a pretty glass. She had a talent for making people feel comfortable, and that whatever they had to say was the most important thing in the world. She had a contagious smile and a gift for lighting up the room wherever she went. She knew how to put a smile on anyone’s face. She loved sunsets on the mountains, the beauty of the desert, mountain climbing, rock collecting, jeeping and breakfasts in the desert. Her love of adventure took her on a helicopter over the Grand Canyon, a hot air balloon, and a glider ride. It also took her to places such as Acapulco, Alaska, and a Hawaiin cruise that she took with Chuck and Mary Copus. On August 30th, 2013, exactly 25 years to the day after Bob passed; Ellie joined him to continue their dance. She has found her dancing shoes again. Hopefully he’s learned to dance by now, but no worries… she’ll lead! Ellie’s Viewing and Service will be held Saturday, September 7 ,2013 at First Presbyterian Church in Wickenburg, AZ. Viewing hours are from 10am – 12pm with the Service to begin at 12:00pm. A celebration of life will be held at the Wickenburg Elks Lodge immediately following graveside services. Flowers are welcome, however, if you choose, in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Hospice of the Valley in Ellie’s name.