Elba Vassar

Elba Ruth Vassar, 87 of Canyon went to be with her Lord and Savior Monday, March 20th in Canyon. Funeral services will be 11:00 am Monday, March 26th at Minton Memorial Chapel. Burial will be in Westlawn Memorial Park under the direction of Minton Chatwell Funeral Directors of Borger.
Elba Ruth Simpson Vassar was born August 12, 1930 in Yale, Oklahoma, the eldest child of 5 born to Howard Simpson and Ruth Haskell Simpson. She also had two older half-siblings. Elba married E.W. "Runt" Vassar on July 28, 1951 and moved to Borger, Texas. She was always quick to tell you that she was a Vassar girl and a Yale Graduate! While living in Borger, she attended West Texas A&M University in Canyon Texas where she obtained a Bachelor's and Master's degrees. She taught Junior English, Speech and Drama at Phillips High School in Phillips Texas for many years.
She was preceded in death by her husband, E.W. "Runt" Vassar. She was also preceded in death by her father and mother and by her brothers Orville Simpson and Frank Simpson, and two sisters Sharon Simpson and Marie Simpson Lydon. She is survived by two daughters, Debbie Young, and husband George of Utah, and Clesta Collins, and husband Roger of Borger. She had 10 grandchildren, Leighann Shelton and Whitney Shelton (Shakeitha) of Utah, Valerie Hart (Jeff), and Zach Collins (Tiffany) of Borger, Adam Young (Maria) and Joseph Young (Briana) of Colorado, and Amanda Davis (Jack), Jacob Young (Michelle), Aaron Young and Jeanette Young of Utah. She has 23 great grandchildren, including the newest member of the family born on the same day she passed away. She is also survived by her Brother Bud Simpson, and wife Fay, her sisters Billie Jo Olive and NellAnna Lehman, and two sister-in laws, Rita Simpson and Lou McCoy, and husband George.
Elba is remembered by all as a loving person who loved life and had a smile and an encouraging word for anyone she met. She was gentle as a lamb, but had a back bone of steel and wasn't afraid to tackle any project. She was wise, confident, and a forward thinker. She was an amazing cook. She was a very talented seamstress. She did a lot of freelance creative writing, and loved photography. She enjoyed traveling and used this passion as she did her Master's thesis on outdoor theaters. She and her husband traveled to several venues to capture the essence of information to complete her studies. She had a special giftedness of being able to bring things to life through her abilities to write. If you knew her very well you were more than likely a character in one of her stories. She made everyone feel like they were her very favorite person on the planet. The last big writing project she did before Alzheimer's began to rob her of her favorite joys in life, was write a family cook book with all our favorite recipes in it. What made this recipe book even more special is at the first of every section she wrote a story about each of us cooking with her. Each grandchild at some point commented "I could tell by my story that I was her favorite!"
May her giftedness live on in each of us.

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