Mary Elaine Corum

Longtime Sacramento and Carmichael resident Elaine Corum passed away peacefully on July 30, 2014. Elaine will be remembered with tears, smiles, and love by friends and family. She is survived by her daughter, Claudia Corum, and by her grandsons Elliott and Oliver Gaines, all of Austin, Texas; by her granddaughter Anna Malone and great granddaughters Mary and Emily Malone, all of Dallas, Texas; and by her sons-in-law William R. Gaines and John Zukowski. She treasured the friendship of her younger brother Lyle C. Eyer and was especially close to her niece Dani Eyer and nephew John Eyer, all of San Francisco, California. Elaine was preceded in death by her husband and best friend of 65 years, Raymond C. Corum, her beloved daughter Christina, and her cherished granddaughter Emily Zukowski. Elaine was born in Los Angeles on March 14, 1920, to W. Leslie and Irene Mae Ramsay. Her early years were filled with the excitement and magic of living in Hollywood. Elaine established herself as a writer at an early age and wrote stories about heroines who traveled the world in search of adventure. She would grow up to be a character in one of her stories. A love of horses brought Elaine and Ray together when they were teenagers working at Barbara Worth's stables in exchange for riding privileges. The newly married couple were students at Sacramento City College when WW ll broke out. When Ray was drafted, Elaine quickly enlisted in the Women's Army Corps where she trained as a radio operator and sailed the seas on hospital ships across the globe. She was proud of her military service and remained active in Veterans groups throughout the years. She remained close to her WAC radio operator friends after the war and wrote a charming novel based on their adventures. Her experiences on the hospital ship made her a lifelong peace activist. The couple settled in Sacramento. Elaine continued to serve and reach out to others. When blind children needed textbooks so they could mainstream into the schools, Elaine started the Sacramento Braille Transcribers Guild and spent many years transcribing braille, long before computers made the task easier. Elaine drove Meals on Wheels for 16 years. She loved France and the French and with a group of like-minded francophiles met for many years for French conversation. The group had just celebrated a milestone with a party the day before Elaine was hospitalized. Elaine and Ray spent many years at Lake Tahoe, first at Ray's family's cabin near Globin's pier in the late 1930's, then for decades at a cabin on the beach in Marla Bay. Elaine skied, water-skied, and hiked the many areas around the Lake. Travel and adventure were always part of Elaine's life. Elaine and Ray would travel the world in their small plane where Elaine played navigator and translator. They were the first private plane to fly to the Falkland Islands. Her articles about their adventures were published in a number of places, including the Sacramento Bee. She leaves behind many good friends at Eskaton, especially her dear friend Dr. Richard Feiertag. There will be a small Celebration of Elaine's Life at Eskaton in September. Friends know how much she loved Public Television and donations can be made to KVIE.org in Sacramento in her memory.