Elaine Trautmann Obituary

Silverton resident Elaine Beth Trautmann died Friday, Jan. 14, 2011, in Murfreesboro, Tenn. She was 52. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Ms. Trautmann was born April 26, 1958, to Robert and Patricia Trautmann in Holyoke. She moved to Silverton when she was 25.

She was a skilled outdoorswoman who could take friends and family to places they never would have found, her family said. Ms. Trautmann enjoyed time in her "beloved Colorado."

She was a talented musician who could teach herself to play any instrument. Mrs. Trautmann taught herself to play the trumpet and performed with the Silverton Brass Band. She taught her niece Rexanne Trautmann how to play the piano, and they enjoyed playing piano duets.

"Her nieces and nephews loved her deeply," her brother Kurt Trautmann said. "They were almost as much hers as ours."

Ms. Trautmann is survived by her parents, Robert and Patricia Trautmann, of Black Mountain, N.C.; brother, Kurt Trautmann, of Durango; sisters Sarah Trautmann of Durango, Cynthia Keyes of Lawrenceville, Ga., and Gretchen Trautmann of Asheville, N.C.; and several nieces and nephews.

Cremation will occur. A celebration of life will be held at a later date near Silverton. The time and place will be posted with her obituary at www.harwoodhomeforfunerals.com.