Elaine DeMars, age 94 of Madison, Wisconsin, formerly of Lake Delton, Wisconsin passed away peacefully Tuesday, February 4, 2020 at her residence.

A celebration of Elaine's life will be scheduled at a later date.

Elaine was born September 16, 1925 in Sparta, Wisconsin the daughter of Frank and Ada (Davis) Wilcox. The family moved to Reedsburg, and she graduated from Reedsburg High School in 1942. After high school, Elaine moved to Madison, where she worked for the telephone company. There she met a handsome Army Air Corps cadet—Earl Louis DeMars (Devils Lake ND) and married him on April 10th, 1944. They were married for 55 years, until Earl passed away on March 31st, 2000.

Elaine was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her son Gary DeMars, Her brother Roderick (Jean), brother Burton (Red) Wilcox (Loretta), and sister Leila Callendar (Alex).

Elaine is survived by her sons Steven, Scott, and Todd (Cheryl) DeMars, and her daughter Jeanne DeMars (Alex Abramowitz), sister Lorraine Hanson, daughter-in-law Linda Rae Cuccia, grandchildren Cash, Jennifer, and Aron DeMars, great-granddaughter Claudia, and great-great granddaughter Eden Rose, and many nieces and nephews.

Elaine worked for the WI Department of Corrections as a correctional officer, from which she retired after 25 years. She loved to sew, camp, travel, crochet, knit, do artwork, and read. She did a large amount of charitable work—knitting baby hats for the hospital and crocheting hundreds of afghans for the needy. She made monetary donations to send children to school in Kenya, also sending school supplies and sewing school uniform dresses for the girls. She donated her time to the CASA program for children at risk. She was an avid reader, and an accomplished artist who loved to paint and draw.

She was known for her intelligent and feisty nature.