Elaine maria upton biography of donald

Our beloved Elaine Maria Upton died peacefully at her home in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, on Thursday July 20, 2023 with Woodsong by her side and devoted friends and family holding her tenderly in love and prayers. Her last breath was a gentle sigh.

What a blessed journey! Elaine Maria lived fully in her 77 years on this Earth. She was born on the Winter Solstice -December 22, 1945- in the foothills of the Great Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. Beloved daughter of Amy Louise (McGaughey) Upton and Alvin Kenneth Upton she later became a devoted big sister to Alvin K. Upton, Jr., Gregory Upton and Sharon (Upton) Calvin. She was deeply connected with many sister/brother-cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and the Spirit of the Ancestors. Her family, her community in Sweetwater, Tennessee, was her creative inspiration, her joy and sometimes sorrow. Her poetry, stories, and novels were written with an ever present awareness of and deep love for that community.

Elaine Maria was also a gift to the larger world. She lived, worked, taught and studied in many places in North America, Great Britain, Germany and South Africa. She was an artist. Poetry defined her life, her vision, and her work. She was a gifted writer, editor, translator, student of Nature, and lover of learning and conscious living. She earned her Ph.D., taught in universities and art schools, lead workshops, cared for those in need of care, delighted in sharing her work with others and was a deep listener and encouraging presence to her students, friends and colleagues. She was a seriously devoted student of the teachings of several spiritual traditions and was constantly striving to live up to the Highest Light of those Teachings.

Beloved sister, partner, second mother and devoted friend to many around the world. She will be missed. And she will be remembered. Her welcoming smile, playful intellect and deep presence always encouraged us. That Presence now Everywhere- she remains in our hearts, always.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn rain.

                      ~ Mary Elizabeth Frye

A private funeral service will be held on Sunday, July 23, 2023, in Great Barrington. Condolences can be offered and memories shared through Birches-Roy Funeral Home, Great Barrington, MA http://birchesroyfuneralservices.com.