Elizabeth Poulsen

1916 - 2017

Elizabeth Walters Poulsen
Resident of Santa Rosa
Elizabeth Walters Poulsen passed into the loving arms of God on the morning of January 28, 2017 in her home in Santa Rosa, California surrounded by her family. She was 100 years old. Born on a farm in Franklin, Tennessee on July 5, 1916 to Lera Elizabeth Skelley and William Edward Walters, she was the second of eight children. Elizabeth came from a long line of American patriots. She counted six direct lines to grandfathers who fought in the American Revolutionary War. Elizabeth was an adventurer herself. As a young woman of twenty-three, she traveled by car from Tennessee to California with a group of strangers after having seen an advertisement in a newspaper. Arriving in San Francisco, she went to college for one year before beginning work as a secretary at the Presidio. There she met and fell in love with handsome Lieutenant Frank Poulsen. They were married three months later in Nashville, Tennessee. After Frank served in Europe during World War II, they settled in Santa Rosa where they raised three children. They enjoyed summers at their vacation home along the Russian River. When her children were older, her dream of owning a small business was fulfilled when, for several years, she owned and ran a dress shop in the Flamingo Hotel. A woman of deep faith, Elizabeth was a consummate lady and will be deeply missed by her family far and near, as well as the many who knew and loved her.
Elizabeth is preceded in death by husband, Frank; son, Kenneth; and grandson, John Kenny. She is survived by daughter, Sherril (Jim) Kenny of Saratoga, California; son, Tom of Jiggs, Nevada; and her beloved granddaughter, Sara Kenny of Los Gatos, California; as well as her siblings, Edith Young of Plantation, Florida; Virginia Cheek of Brentwood, Tennessee; and Bob Walters of LaGrange, Georgia; and many nieces and nephews. She will be laid to rest beside her loving husband in Franklin, Tennessee.
Family and friends are invited to a memorial celebration and reception at the Church of Christ on the corner of Montecito Boulevard and Benjamins Road in Rincon Valley, Saturday, February 4th at 1:00 p.m.


View the online memorial for Elizabeth Walters Poulsen