Elna M. Boardman

Elna M. Boardman, 86, of Sunnyvale, Calif., and formerly of Grand Island, passed away Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023, at her home following a long illness.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, at Palmer-Santin Funeral Home in Fullerton with Pastor Tim Kilstrom officiating. Burial will follow at Fullerton Cemetery in Fullerton. Visitation will be 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19 at the funeral home. Palmer-Santin Funeral Home is serving the family.

Elna was born April 27, 1937 in Wolbach to Christian and Dora (Schow) Sonderup. While growing up on the farm, she attended country school and graduated high school in Fullerton. She was also employed as a telephone operator in Fullerton. While in high school, Richard “Dick” Boardman became the love of her life. After dating throughout most of high school, they married on July 3, 1955 and moved to Omaha, where their first child, LuAnn, was born followed by Kent, Todd, Rhonda and Carolyn.

Eventually, Elna joined Dick in the photography business and they both went on to become professional photographers. They opened several portrait studios and photographed hundreds of weddings, school pictures, and other events and they were also official photographers at several horse racing tracks. Elna took pictures, ran the front office of the studio, and was a master at hand coloring black and white photographs with oil paints, all while successfully raising five children.

Elna became a born-again Christian in the early 1970s and she always spoke of the goodness of Jesus and applied God’s word and encouraged family and others she met along the road of life. She had such a gift of relating with and encouraging people. She was always friendly and truly sought to find the good in everyone and every situation. She could always find a way to brighten someone’s day. Whether it be a family, friend, or a stranger, her first instinct was selflessly to help others when they were hurt or otherwise in need.

Elna had a lot of creativity. She loved to decorate her home and create floral arrangements and other special momentos for the people in her life. She remembered people and the details of their lives and could quickly turn any casual gathering into something special and memorable with the focus always being on others. Her family was so important to her. She gave us so many beautiful memories and gatherings won’t be the same without her.

Dick and Elna moved many times and had many great adventures. One bright side of this was that they were able to be closer and spend time with different parts of the family at different times. She was always involved in the lives of her children and helped tremendously in raising many of her grandchildren and was even present for the birth of some of them.

After retiring in Grand Island and after the death of her husband, she eventually moved back to California and was cared for through her illness by daughters, Rhonda and LuAnn, until her passing. She will be greatly missed by all who were blessed to have been touched by her love and kindness.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Dick; son, Todd; granddaughter, Michelle; her parents; and six brothers and three sisters.

She is survived by her children, LuAnn (Stanley) Blythe, Kent (Brenda) Boardman, Rhonda (BJ) Leon-Guerrero, and Carolyn Chace; as well as 15 grandchildren, Heather, Matthew, William, Jennifer, Kristi, Michael, Carina, Derek, Shawna, Ryan, Adam, Aden, Tara, Rebecca, and Shane; and 12 great-grandchildren.