PAXTON, IL (June 1, 2009) \u2013 Elaine Gustafson may not have taught Sunday school to everyone at the Evangelical Covenant Church of Paxton, but she\u2019s been a teacher to a vast majority.
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\nOn Sunday, May 24, Gustafson taught her final class after serving in some kind of educational role for more than 50 years. This year\u2019s class included ![\"Teacher\"](\"http:\/\/www.covchurch.org\/uploads\/M7\/oY\/M7oY9wpG7uF-mE_VDY8tTg\/Teacher.jpg\")
a group of adults that also comprise the majority of the pastor\u2019s Monday morning Bible study. In the past, however, she served as a Sunday school teacher to all ages of children, starting her work in the fall of 1956, according to church records.<\/p>\n
Back then, Elaine Johnson was single, but she and Norman Gustafson were wed on December 28, 1957. They parented three children while Elaine was serving many years as a teacher in the Paxton school district. Norman died in 1985.<\/p>\n
Elaine continues to serve on the diaconate with her son, Roger, and is a key contributor during the church\u2019s Christmas season Lucia Fest, among other things.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up in my home church, I had a woman that eventually taught children\u2019s Sunday school for decades, and her legacy is in the hundreds she drew to Jesus through her love for kids and passion for the gospel,\u201d says Pastor Craig Pinley.<\/p>\n
\u201cElaine is like that. She is well prepared, she knows her Bible, and she has been a tireless servant, doing visitation, helping with large projects and making herself available to help on countless occasions. Moreover, she is a life-long learner, and that quality is admirable.\u201d<\/p>\n