Elma UDALL

Elma found us in north London when she was working at the embassy. My maternal grandmother´s maiden name was Udall. As a little boy I would sit on her lap, fascinated by her thunder bird necklace, and she explained we were cousins of the same generation. She and my mother traveled all over researching our ancestry in church records. She was full of anecdotes and good humour and a favourite in our home, which she visited when ever she was in London.

Elma had been a dear friend of my father since 1960,sharing their common passion of researching their family history.My wife and I were privileged to have met Elma on several occasions - when she visited us at our home in Hong Kong, with her cousin, and also on several occasions in the UK. She was a wonderful person with a great sense of humour and her worldly travels were always of immense interest.I still have her last letter to us from a few years ago - regretfully we were never able to...

I worked closely with Elma when I was Congressional Archivist at the University of Arizona Library Special Collections from 1987-1997 working with the Udall Family Papers. I will always remember her wonderful sense of humor and her encyclopedic knowledge of Udall Family History. I will miss her good cheer and wonderful stories about growing up in St. Johns, Arizona.

Elma is my 5th oousin, 2x removed. She contacted me several years ago to confirm, and then sent me a huge asst. or family info with certs., etc. and also a copy of "The Forgotten Founders" by Stewart L. Udall. I, in turn, told her of some kin in England, and put her in touch with a cousin in Chideock, Dorset who sent Elma a book of the history of Chideock and some family members mentioned therein. Elma and I kept in touch. We never met physically, but 'knew' of each other and our family...

Elma Ufall was a lifelong friend of my Mother, Lillian Drawneck Schwartz. They met in San Francisco after the war in a steno pool at the FBI field office. When "Aunt" Elma arrived at the office, mom immediately asked her share an apartment as "Elma was the most interesting person there" They often spoke of those years whenever they got together. Sometimes when I was little I would walk into the room and catch them laughing hysterically and I knew they had had some adventures. They were the...

Elma was an invaluable counselor and friend to hundreds of Udall scholars. My wife Donna and I got to know her well. We shall greatly miss her wonderful stories and sense of humor. May she rest in peace.

Chris Helms

Elma Udall was in every dimension a wonderful
person who became a role model for many generations of Udall Scholars. I am privileged to have known her well.