Obituary: Elkins, Al

ELKINS, Al

Albert Lee Elkins, 89, died peacefully in his sleep at home in St. George, Utah, with his wife, Sandy, by his side.

Al died Wednes- day morning, February 1, 2012, after succumbing to the effects of cancer and chemotherapy.

Born April 7, 1922, in Priest River, ID, Al was the son of Ike and Sue Elkins.

Al is survived by his wife Sandy, his children
Marcia Moroz (Pete) and Brian Elkins (Melissa), sisters Jan Bailey and Joanie McWilliams, grandchildren Tony Lamanna, Sara Butler (Matt), Brian Lamanna and great-grandchildren Emily and Luke Butler.

When Al was born, the Elkins’ family home was in Newport, WA but at an early age in Al’s life, he began to spend more time at his beloved Priest Lake when his parents began building Elkins Resort.

His first visit to Priest Lake was in 1932 - age 10: “I took a friend up there to have a vacation but we were put to work staining Cabin 1.”

After graduating from Newport High School, he went on to attend Whitman College where he played football.

During his summers, Al worked for his father’s logging company at jobs near Cusick stamping logs then later working at the Resort.

One of his early jobs at the Resort was running the power generator for the guests when night fell: “At 10:00 p.m.

I would blink the lights so the guests would know the lights were going out.”

Al also attended University of Washington where he met and married Phyllis Crothers.

Al was a veteran of World War II and proudly served in the Navy when he enlisted in 1942.

For two years, Al was stationed at Ford Island, located in the middle of Pearl Harbor, and he flew in PBY’s and Martin Bombers as a radar technician.
In 1950, Al returned to Priest Lake and began running and later owned Elkins Resort until 1983.

In the early days, there were not many community organizations at Priest Lake and Al, with others, started the Priest Lake Chamber of Commerce, Priest Lake Sports- man’s Association and the North Idaho Tourist Committee.

He was a founding member and helped build the Priest Lake Community Church.

As President of the Priest Lake Chamber, through the help of Senator Frank Church, Al submitted a proposal to designate Upper Priest Lake and the Thorofare as a natural area - the effects of which we all enjoy to this day.

In the off-season, he liked to take camping trips with friends George Hill and Bob Nieman to remote lakes in the Selkirks above Priest Lake.

One of his favorites was Two Mouth Lake where he caught a huge cutthroat trout on a fly.
Al married Sandy Elkins in 1972 and they were married for almost 40 years.

After selling the Resort in 1983, Al and Sandy continued to work and develop property next to the Resort and were sales reps for a jewelry company traveling the western United States with their travel trailer.

After retiring from the Resort, they spent many summers at Priest Lake and lived in Tucson AZ, Las Cruces NM, and later settled in St. George.
Al would have appreciated gifts in his memory to the Hospice of St. George (Applegate) or the Hospice at Priest Lake and the Priest Lake Community Church.

Cremation was under the care of McMillan Mortuary in St. George and a memorial-celebration of Al’s life will take place this summer at Elkins Resort on Priest Lake.