Elaine Elsie Arft

Elaine Elsie Arft (née Behrendt) of Ray Township, Michigan, passed away on March 9, 2026, at East Harbor Senior Living Facility at the age of 93.

Born in Detroit on August 1, 1932, to Edward and Elsie (Rissmann) Behrendt, Elaine graduated from Detroit Lutheran High School before earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Concordia Teachers College in River Forest and a Master’s Degree from Eastern Michigan University. She taught at St. Peter Lutheran School in Richmond and later at New Haven Community Schools until her retirement.

Her lifelong passion was serving as a Lutheran school teacher and director of music, using her gifts to glorify God and nurture children. To the many students who passed through her classroom, she was remembered as a kind, loving, and dedicated Christian educator. She also shared her musical talents by directing choirs at numerous churches throughout her life, most recently at Peace Lutheran Church in Shelby Township, and led the New Haven Community Chorus for ten years.

Elaine is survived by her husband Leonard Arft; sons Kenneth (Sandy) Fritsch, Kerry (Diane) Fritsch, and Kregg (Linda) Fritsch; stepchildren Paul (Helena) Arft and Penny (David) Gingrich; grandchildren Samantha (Trey) Brannen, Heidi Urbanchock, Carl (Crystal) Arft, September (Zach) Clark, Joshua Gingrich, and Jeremy (Cody) Gingrich; and great-grandchildren Chloe and Wessley Urbanchock, Peyton Brannen, Austin and Gage Arft, and Nancy, Britney, and Gunner Clark. She was preceded in death by her brother Carl (Carol) Behrendt and sisters Elva (Francis) Moore and Edeen (Clay) Hufnagel.