Surrounded by his family, Jerry Lee Elven, 81, passed away as a result of congestive heart failure on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, in Cottonwood. He was born on Jan. 21, 1944, in Vancouver, Wash., the second of three children born to Jerome and Kristine Hannesson Elven. After moving back to North Dakota, Kristine was left with three children to raise on her own. In 1949, the small family moved to Nezperce, where Kristine married Wilfred V. Schmitz, and soon six more children joined the family. As Jerry frequently shared, Nezperce was an idyllic place to grow up playing with all the kids in the neighborhood and to have opportunities to work at a young age on surrounding farms.
In Jerry, Nezperce gained a mayor, a city councilor, a cemetery board member, a Post Legion Commander and a man who worked tirelessly behind the scenes on countless civic projects and improvements. In his hands and through his ingenuity old machines found new life.
A celebration of life will take place at 3 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 23, at the Nezperce Legion Hall, followed by a meal.
Blackmer Funeral Home of Grangeville is in charge of arrangements. Send condolences to the family to blackmerfuneralhome.com.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Jerry Elven may be made to the Nezperce Senior Center, 501 Cedar St., Nezperce, ID 83543.
To read the entire obituary, visit https://www.lmtribune.com/obituaries/jerry-lee-elven-20827910