Keith Elsbury

Keith Elsbury April 5, 1909 - March 14, 2008 Keith Elsbury, long-time Greenfield High School teacher and Hancock County farmer, died at age 98 on March 14, in Denver, Colorado, where he had lived in a retirement community for the past four years. Mr. Elsbury was born April 5, 1909, north of Greenfield in Center Township. He was the only child of Charlie Lee and Ona Alice (Wiley) Elsbury, whose families had settled in Hancock County in the early 1800s. He lived most of his life on the Morristown Pike, south of Greenfield. He first attended College Hill School, where his father and uncles had attended; it is still standing about three miles south on the Pike. He then attended Longfellow School, which was located on the north side of East Main Street and then Benevolence School on the East National Road, three miles east of the Morristown Pike. He started high school at Greenfield High School, which was on the corner of North and Pennsylvania; later, it became the Riley School. He graduated from the new Greenfield High School on West North in 1927, in the first graduating class. Mr. Elsbury was a ten-year 4-H member, and in his senior year of high school, he exhibited the grand champion peck of potatoes at the 4-H Roundup at Purdue and won a four-year scholarship to Purdue worth $240.00. He majored in animal husbandry and was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity; two of his brothers were Dr. Earl Butz and Orville Redenbacher. While at Purdue, he participated on judging teams, was a member of Alpha Zeta Agriculture Honorary and lettered in cross-country for four years. He met his wife, Ann Wettschurack, on a blind date at Purdue. They were married June 11, 1931 and were together almost seventy years before she died in April, 2001. From 1931-1934, he taught vocational agriculture at Mt. Summit High School in Henry County. In 1934, the family moved to Greenfield, where he taught agriculture and science for forty years at the school from which he graduated and at Greenfield Central, where he retired in 1974. During those years, he was active as a 4-H leader, was a member of the Hancock County Fair Association and participated many years in the sheep and hog programs. He also judged livestock shows in surrounding counties. He and his wife joined Bradley United Methodist Church in 1934, where they both were very active and faithful members for almost seventy years. His survivors include son, Richard Elsbury (JoAnn), Englewood, Florida and daughter, Sara Morgan (Edward), Centennial, Colorado. Daughter, Barbara Elsbury, died in 2000. Also surviving are grandchildren, Elizabeth Ann Moen (Tom) and daughters, Anna and Sara of Minnesota; Karen Elsbury, Virginia; Krista Smith (Mitchell) and sons, Trevor and Justin, Colorado; Andrew Keith Morgan (Cindy) and daughters, Kaelynn, Molly and Sadie, Colorado. Graveside services will be conducted by The Rev. Edward Morgan on Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 11:00 am at Park Cemetery. The family will greet friends in the parlor of Bradley United Methodist Church from 2-4 on Thursday afternoon. Memorial contributions may be made to the Hancock County Community Foundation, 312 Main Street, Greenfield, IN, 46140,with attention to the Keith and Ann Elsbury Purdue University Scholarship Endowment.