Elaine Kristen Capers of Fox Island died July 18, 2009 after a nine-month battle with cancer. She was 43 years old.

Elaine was born in El Centro, Calif. on March 2, 1966 to Lucinda and Jerome Capers. Elaine, her mother, father and two brothers moved to the Philippines shortly after she was born. Her father served in the U.S. Navy there. A few years later, they moved back to California, where Elaine enjoyed all things water, from surf camp to studying marine life in tidal pools.

Her mom and brothers were very musical, but Elaine inherited her dad’s tin ear, and finally gave up on a musical career. Instead, Elaine became a serious ballet dancer. In high school, she was invited to audition for the San Francisco Ballet. But Elaine realized a ballet dancer’s career is quite short and intense, and would not leave any room for anything else in her life. So she gave up ballet.

Instead, she got a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Francisco State University in geography, and worked at Nordstrom as a buyer to help put herself through school. She then worked for the Environmental Defense Fund.

In 1994, her son Nicholas was born. He was the joy and pride of her life, and she loved attending his track meets, teaching him to drive and just spending time with him.

In 2004, she and Nicholas moved to Fox Island with her parents, and Elaine joined the Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority, as part of the team dedicated to revitalizing Bremerton. Elaine believed in Bremerton, and was delighted to see new businesses, residents and life begin to return there as a result of the renewal efforts. She earned a Certificate in Community Development from the University of Washington in 2009.

For fun, she played volleyball at the YMCA, and she loved fashion and enjoyed helping fashion-challenged friends put together their wardrobes. Elaine was one of those people who could make you think you were the most important person in the room, and when she smiled, everybody smiled with her.

Elaine is survived by her son and her parents, all of Fox Island; brothers Eric Capers of Weston, Fla. and Jerome Capers II of Johannesburg, Mich. and their families. She will be missed by her maternal and paternal grandmothers, numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins. In lieu of flowers, a college fund at Wells Fargo Bank has been established for Elaine’s son Nicholas Capers. Deposits can be made at any branch in his name.