Elsie Mary Covi was born in March 1929 in Arvada, Colorado, a twin and the youngest of eight children. Elsie had a happy childhood. She enjoyed a simple life on a sunny farm, working the land alongside her siblings treasuring the company of her goat and dog. Elsie loved school and playing the violin. She excelled academically, finishing her senior year in 1947 as class valedictorian. Her older brother Joe then helped her enter a nurses training program at Mercy Hospital in Denver, graduating in 1950. There, she became an operating room nurse, and she also met her future husband, Dr. Ernest B. Mullinaux.

After her graduation, Elsie and Ernie married and soon had a family of six children whom they raised in Julesburg, Denver, and Aurora, Colorado. Once her children were in school, Elsie assisted in Ernie's private practice office but took employment in the operating room at Rose Medical Center in Denver in 1964. A dedicated nurse, Elsie retired in 1994 after 30 years of employment. During these years, Elsie was a member of the Association of Operating Room Nurses, serving as an elected delegate from Colorado to the AORN Congress at its Las Vegas convention in 1992. In the hospital setting, Elsie coordinated the operating room orthopedic service and represented her colleagues on a grievance committee. In 1986, Elsie advanced her credentials, earning her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from the University of Denver.

Elsie and Ernie retired in Anacortes, Washington, in 1994-5. For a number of years, they traveled in the Pacific Northwest by car or sailboat, transfixed by the natural beauty of Puget Sound, Western Washington, and British Columbia until Ernest passed away in 2004. During this time, Elsie enjoyed current affairs, books, international travel, televised sports, and solving crossword puzzles. Considering herself a scientist at heart, Elsie showed particular affection for dogs as well as curiosity about the natural world in general.

Elsie devoted herself to her congregation, St. Mary's, where she studied the Bible avidly, Adored the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, worked in office administration, and helped to organize Faith on Fire conferences the church hosted.  Elsie sought to champion the vulnerable: She was passionate in support of the Right to Life, and, as a Eucharistic minister, she delivered communion to homebound congregants, as well as faithfully leading with Rosary before the 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

Publically, Elsie volunteered for the Northwest Regional Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program in Skagit County, visiting the elderly in nursing homes.

Elsie maintained her house in Anacortes until 2019, when she moved to live with a daughter in Mount Vernon.  She moved to Maple Ridge Assisted Living in February 2022 and regularly attended Masses at St. Hubert Parish in Langley until her last days.  A series of illnesses and setbacks took a slow toll on her, ultimately taking her life in 2023.

Elsie will be remembered for her humor, kindness, resilience, determination, perseverance, and equal, open-minded regard for all people. Elsie--especially her warm smile and easy laughter--will live on in the hearts of everyone who has had the privilege to know her.

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