Elinor (Gonzales) Schutt

September 23, 1929 – January 12, 2025

Posted

TORRINGTON – Elinor Schutt passed away on January 12, 2025, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado surrounded by her son and his family.  In accordance with her wishes, there will be no funeral services.

Elinor was born September 23, 1929, in San Jose, New Mexico to Bonifacio and Santana (Duran) Gonzales and was the fourth of ten children. 

At an early age the family moved from New Mexico to Southern Colorado to work in the fields as farm labor. In those days there were no regulations about children working and as soon as you learned to walk, they gave you a short handled hoe and you were on your hands and knees working the fields.

In 1949, her mom and siblings moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico where they worked washing and packaging eggs for sale. In 1951, they moved to Sunrise, Wyoming where her father was working at the mine. In 1953, they moved to Lingle where they worked planting and topping sugar beets. Later that year, they moved to Torrington where Elinor and her younger brother Eddie attended the Columbia School. The family then moved to Veteran, where they continued working in the farm fields.

The family moved back to Torrington, in 1955, where she attended and graduated high school in 1959. While attending high school, Elinor worked cleaning homes on the evenings and weekends and babysat every chance she could, she was determined to make enough money to afford her senior pictures and her class ring. After graduating, she worked as a homecare giver and later that year she was hired by JC Penney where she worked until 1972. In 1972, she married Jerry Fred Schutt and made a home with him and his four daughters. To this union two sons were born, Benjamin Fred and Jeffrey Edward. She and Jerry divorced in 1985 but continued to work together to raise their family.

While being a dedicated mother was the job she cared the most about, she also work for Headstart, the Community Hospital, one campaign at Holly Sugar, and then the State of Wyoming Workforce Center from 1979 until her retirement in 2004. She was always gainfully employed, was never fired from a job, and excelled in every job she had. She very much enjoyed gardening and canning the fruits and vegetables of her labors. She loved crafts, sewing clothing for her family, quilting, knitting, and crocheting.

She is survived by her son Benjamin Schutt; grandchildren, Sydnee, Jackson, and Tatum; sisters, Benita and Margret and brother Ruben. She is preceded in death by her beloved son Jeffrey Edward; parents Bonifacio and Santana; sister Dora Lee; brothers Joe, Roman, Orlando, Eddie, and Damian and her mother-in-law and dear friend Mary Schutt.

Last but not least, she thanks all the good people that were kind and good to her and her sons.