It is with great sadness and pain that the family of Elaine regret to announce that she lost her battle with liver damage after a prolonged and courageous fight. Elaine was born and raised In Barrhead, Alberta, where her father was an active teacher in the Barrhead school system. Her mother had retired from teaching to raise the family’s 5 children, of which Elaine was the youngest.

Upon graduation from high school Elaine attended the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), studying business, with an accounting designation. During her summer breaks from NAIT, Elaine worked hotel administration and housekeeping jobs in Jasper, developing a lifelong love of the Jasper National Park.

Upon graduation from NAIT, Elaine accepted a flight up to Fort McMurray for a “practice” interview with Syncrude. She arrived at the Fort McMurray airport with $20 in her pocket and the intent to hone her interview skills. Syncrude obviously made a positive impression, as she accepted its job offer and moved permanently to Fort McMurray, arriving in 1988. During her move to Fort McMurray, she hit a dead moose on highway 63. Luckily, Elaine was not injured, but her car was totalled, resulting in her buying her prized red Honda Prelude that she loved so much. The moose incident was Elaine’s “Welcome to Fort McMurray” initiation.

After further studies and courses, Elaine obtained her Certified Management Accounting (CMA) designation in November of 1994. In 2015, her CMA designation was converted to a Chartered Professional Accountant with the merger of various accounting designations. Elaine started at Syncrude in 1988, initially in the Comptrollers/Financial division. She later moved into Operations Accounting in a number of areas, including Extraction, Procurement and Maintenance. She was highly respected for her knowledge, work ethic and professionalism and her support for co-employees throughout her career. After approximately 25 years at Syncrude, Elaine resigned so that she could devote time to travel to Barrhead and assist with her mother’s health challenges. After leaving Syncrude she worked as a picture framer in the Point North art gallery in Fort McMurray for a period of about 1 year.

During her life, Elaine developed and pursued a love of travel and adventure. Elaine had an eclectic assortment of travel companions. She became part of a women’s walking and hiking group that travelled to various locations around the globe. This women’s group provided her with lifelong friendships and adventures. Elaine also had a number of couples friends who enjoyed travelling and various couples would travel to assorted locations to experience life outside of north America. Some examples of her trips include travelling with a high school friend to Costa Rica for that friend’s destination wedding and honeymoon, an extended trip to Australia and New Zealand, a polar bear spotting trip to Churchill, Manitoba and women’s group hiking trips to Greece, Malta, Croatia, Turkey, Italy, Portugal and Ireland. Other trips included a river boat cruise ending in Prague, a river boat cruise through Vietnam with side trips to Cambodia, a Russian river boat cruise from Moscow to St. Petersburg, with a side trip to Helsinki, Finland, a river boat cruise in China and a river boat cruise through the upper Amazon river system in Peru. Elaine travelled to Switzerland for a National Geographic train trip through Switzerland, ending in Milan, Italy. She also participated in a hiking trip to the foothills of the Himalayan mountains in Nepal. Early in her Fort McMurray life, Elaine regularly travelled to the mountains, especially in Jasper National Park, for back country hiking with friends. Elaine also travelled on bus tours through southern Ireland and through Morocco and on a travel safari in Tanzania and Zanzibar. The photo above was taken in a game preserve in Tanzania, where Elaine was dressed in the garments typically worn by the local tribes’ women.

Elaine possessed a lifelong love of gardening. Her knowledge of plant types was encyclopaedic. Springtime was the season she would plan the changes and additions to her flower beds and, although she loved to support local suppliers, she took enormous pleasure in browsing the various large greenhouses in Edmonton, especially Holes.

Elaine possessed a meticulous personality. (there is another common adjective for this trait which will not be used here) Her house was kept in a clean and orderly fashion that led most guests to complement the pristine state of her home. Elaine’s housekeepers would sometimes tell Elaine that they were confused why they were hired, as the home was already impeccable. Inside the home, every item had a specific venue and method of placement. Every kitchen item and linen had a particular location in which it needed to be placed and not only did the linens need to be folded a specific way, but the direction of the patterns on all items had to match. Ryan soon realized he was ill prepared for the precision expected by Elaine in the maintenance of her household.

Elaine adored all technology related to kitchen/cooking appliances and gadgets.  She possessed cooking accoutrements necessary for every culinary function.

Elaine was a regular attendee at the “Christmas in November” function at Jasper Park Lodge, where she and her girl friends would attend and enjoy the annual cooking and social extravaganza, hosted by top chefs.  She also joined the local “belly dance” group with a close friend and participated in a number of local belly dance performances.

Elaine passed away on July 4, 2026, at the Northern Lights Regional Hospital in Fort McMurray. She received exceptional care from the medical professionals, including LPN’s, RN’s Health Care Aides, and doctors during her lengthy stays at the facility. She also appreciated the care and attention of the physical therapy department, occupational therapy department, dieticians, food services and cleaning staff.

Elaine was pre-deceased by her father, Henry Hennig and her mother, Merle Hennig. She is survived by her brothers, Hubert Hennig of Sherwood Park, and Lawrence (Joyce) Hennig of Sherwood Park, and by her sisters, Gayle Hennig of Montreal and Hazel (Lloyd) Muise of Sherwood Park. Elaine will be affectionately remembered by her nephew, Luke (Samantha, son Noah) and nephew, Joel (Rebecca, sons Darcy & Deacon).  She is also survived by a maternal aunt, Marilyn Courtemanche, and cousin, Michele Courtemanche and numerous paternal cousins. Finally, she is survived by her loving partner of almost 23 years, Ryan Taitinger, together with Ryan’s siblings, including sister Sue (Darrell) of Cultus Lake BC and brothers Kelly of Vancouver and Mark (Corinne) of Victoria.

A memorial service will be held at a later date, and notice will be circulated with details of the memorial. In lieu of flowers, it is suggested that donations be made to a charitable liver research organization such as Liver Canada (liver.ca)