Nelvia Eilene Nolan, 87, of Brush, passed away Tuesday, May 24, 2016, at the North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley. She was born October 8, 1928, in Otis, CO, to Lyle & Lia Whitmore.

When Eilene was 3 the Whitmore family moved to Dune, NE. Eilene started school in a one-room schoolhouse at Dune. She graduated from Benkelman, NE, High School in 1946. That same year she married Lyle Cook. She began teaching in a small country school northwest of Benkelman. In 1949 the Cook family moved to St. Francis, KS. Eilene continued to teach in a country school in which her students were grades 1-12. She then taught in another country school working with students grades 1-6, after which she moved to town to teach 3rd grade in St. Francis.   During summers she attended school at the University of Nebraska in Kearney, NE, working towards her bachelor's degree in education.

Then in 1970 Eilene received a fellowship grant to attend University of Wyoming in Laramie, WY. There she earned her master's degree in counseling. Wray, CO is where she got her counseling job working with elementary and junior high students for 10 years.

In 1973, Eilene married Harold "Sparky" Nolan and they moved back to St. Francis in 1981.   She continued to counsel students in Goodland, KS for several more years. While living in St. Francis, KS, Eilene was very involved in Order of the Eastern Star, having served as worthy matron. She also volunteered with the St. Francis Hospital Auxiliary. In her younger years, Eilene enjoyed riding and working with horses. Later she enjoyed traveling, playing bridge and other card games, doing crossword puzzles, and day trading on the stock exchange.

Survivors include her 4 children, Lyle (Connie) Cook of St. Francis, KS, Mike Cook of Genoa, CO, Sherri (Jammy) Ledbetter of Fort Morgan, and Kristi (Don) Dillehay of Brush; also one brother, Don (Phyllis) Whitmore of St. Francis, KS; 14 grandchildren, 20 great grandchildren, and 3 great - great grandchildren.. She was preceded n death by her husband Sparky Nolan, 1 sister Deloris Elijah, her granddaughter Jennifer Cook and her parents.

A memorial service will be held Friday, June 3, 2016, at 11:00 AM at the Brush United Methodist Church. The service will conclude at the church. Inurnment will be at a later date in St. Francis, KS. Friends who wish may make memorial gifts to the Eilene Nolan Memorial Fund for the Shriner's Hospital for Children, or Blue Horizons (a non-profit youth organization benefiting youth in Colorado) c/o the Heer Mortuary in Brush.