Elma Feltner Beattie, 93, of Denver went
to be with the Lord on April 11, at the Allison
Care Center surrounded by her children
after many years of health challenges. Kitty
– born Elma Musetta Feltner on Feb. 28,
1926 – was the third of six children born to
C.C. Feltner and Angeline Hennick Feltner in
Rock Springs. Elma was a vibrant, intelligent
and loving person every moment of her life.
She loved children and had a special gift of
communicating with them. She had a love of
nature, especially flowers, and as she called
them her “Teton Mountains” in Wyoming.
There is a street in Pinedale that her father
named for her – Elma Avenue. Growing up in
Pinedale, Elma sang and acted in school plays
and church choir. She attended the Methodist
Church with her mother and siblings. She was
an A student and her intelligence was highly
praised. She was known for her affectionate
teasing with her brother “Cub,” and other
family members. Her quick wit and humorous
stories were always looked forward to during
family gatherings.
Elma’s greatest gifts were her kindness,
help and love for other friends and strangers.
Intuitive to the suffering of others, Elma always
knew before one ever asked the right
words or actions to comfort and help.
Elma attended Colorado College in Colorado
Springs for two and a half years, 1946
to 1948, after graduating from Colorado
Springs High School. She was a member of
Delta Gamma Sorority at Colorado College
and had always supported their mission to
help the visually impaired. In the summer
of 1955, she studied acting and mime at the
famed Mozarteum Salzburg, Austria. Later in
1967, after raising five children, Elma graduated
from Hofstra University, Long Island,
N.Y., with a bachelor’s degree of arts, with
an emphasis in dramatic literature. She was a
member of Alpha Sigma Lambda, an honor
society for part-time students.
Elma performed and directed for professional
and community theater on Long Island
and in New York City. She studied acting at
the Herbert Berghof Studios in New York
City. Elma was a certified drama therapist in
1980 at the Turtle Bay Music School in New
York City. She also completed graduate work
in drama at New York University.
Elma wrote and directed several children’s
plays. She was most proud of her performances
with many regional drama groups on
Long Island, which included The Oyster Bay
Players, Glen Cove Theatre II, Orion Players,
Westbury Players and Port Troup. She
directed several productions including “The
Happy Journey from Trenton to Camden,”
by Thornton Wilder, “Aria Da Capo,” by
Edna St. Vincent Millet, “The Rope,” by Eugene
O’Neill, “Under Milkwood,” by Dylan
Thomas and “The Glass Menagerie,” by Tennessee
Williams. A prolific writer, Elma had
many poems published in poetry annuals and
Newsday, Long Island. She was a passionate
reader of both fiction and non-fiction novels
– especially biographies.
Elma worked as a preschool teacher in
Glen Cove at the Co-op Nursery School, then
at Rolling Hills Nursery School and at Day
Care Teach in Roslyn, N.Y. She delighted
in teaching little 2-, 3- and 4-years-olds. She
also worked as a travel agent for Long Island
Travel in Glen Cove, N.Y. and as a reservation
agent for TWA in New York City.
In 1975, Elma was editor of poetry and
director for public information for Choice
Magazine Listening, a magazine for the blind.
She loved working as a poetry editor and later
became assistant editor of the entire magazine.
She enjoyed hearing from her readers and the
cooperative effort she and her colleagues made
to produce this important recorded magazine.
In her spare time, she volunteered at a hospice
program on Long Island.
Elma was married to Herbert Wilson
Beattie on Jan. 11, 1947. Elma and Herbert
divorced in May of 1975. They had five
children during their marriage. She loved
mothering her children and regularly read
poems, sang and encouraged a lifelong love
of the arts. She engaged in lively conversations
about life, politics, the arts, literature,
movies, dance and theater. With her brothers
and sisters, she loved to play bridge, sing in
four-part harmony and remind all of amusing
family stories.
Elma was preceded in death by her parents,
her father Curt Christopher Feltner,
her mother Angeline Hennick Feltner, her
brother Wayne Feltner, her sister-in-law
Lynn Feltner, brother-in-law Jack Story,
nephew Wayne Gras and nephew Brian Feltner.
Elma is survived by her five children, son
Kurt Beattie and daughter-in-law Marianne
Owen Beattie of Seattle, Wash., daughter
Lynn Conaway and son-in-law Mike
Conaway of Billings, Mont., son Mark Beattie
and daughter-in-law Terri Beattie of
Charlotte, N.C., daughter Dawn Maloney
and son-in-law Joseph Maloney of Colorado
Springs, Colo. and son Cameron Beattie
and daughter-in-law Carrie Beattie. Grandchildren
include Elizabeth McFarland and
husband Jay McFarland, Erin Bodien and
husband Justin Bodien, Caroline Segall and
husband Bradley Segall, and Lillian Beattie
and Rose Beattie. Great-grandchildren are
Claire McFarland, Jack Segall and George
Segall. She is also survived by her sisters
Juana Grass of Powell, Sally Story of Phoenix,
Ariz., Angela Thompson of Lincoln
City, Ore., and her brother Dr. Curt Feltner
of Fort Collins, Colo.
A memorial service will be conducted on
Saturday, June 22, at the St. Andrew’s in the
Pines Episcopal Church, 524 W. Pine St., in
Pinedale, 10 a.m. followed by a reception.
Donations in memory of Elma may be given
to the organization of the donor’s choice.
Many thanks and gratitude to the nurses,
staff and hospice help at Allison Care Center
Lakewood, Colo., for the care of our beloved
mother Elma “Kitty” Beattie.
