Elaine Offley was having the time of her life exploring an untamed wilderness she had grown to love, when she suddenly passed away on August 19, 2017.

She was on a hiking and camping trip with friends in the mountains of the Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Russia. It was a place, she had told loved ones, where nature was at its most pristine.

Elaine Catherine Offley, 35, was born in Hampton, Virginia, on February 24, 1982. She became a resident of the Pacific Northwest at the age of three when her family moved to Mercer Island. She was a member of the Class of 2000 at Mercer Island High School, then attended Northern Virginia Community College and George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, where she graduated in 2008 with a bachelor of science degree in business management. After a ten-year stint with Navy Federal Credit Union in Vienna, Virginia, she joined the financial services technology firm Fiserv in its Hillsboro, Oregon, office as a senior researcher.

Having returned to the Pacific Northwest, Elaine became an avid hiker, exploring the mountains and parklands of Oregon, and enjoying treks abroad in places as diverse as New Zealand, Australia, Thailand and Europe.

She is survived by her parents, Ed Offley and Karen T. Conrad of Panama City Beach, Florida; a sister, Andrea C. Offley of Seattle; two uncles, Will Offley of Vancouver, B.C. and Anwar Poonawala of Geneva, Switzerland; two aunts, Catherine Poonawala of Geneva, and Charlotte Griffiths of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; and five cousins, Salim Poonawala (and family) of Luxembourg, Alia Poonawala (and family) of Geneva, Zahra Poonawala of Strasbourg, France, and Bill and Michael Griffiths of Mechanicsburg. She was preceded in death by her mother, Suzanne Scheurer Offley of Mercer Island, Washington.

Elaine will be deeply missed, not only by her extended family, but by the countless friends she made over the course of her life’s journey.

A memorial service for Elaine will be held on Friday, September 22, beginning at 11 a.m. at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church at 8501 SE 40th St. in Mercer Island, followed by a reception in the church solarium.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to two Russian charities that Elaine supported in the Kamchatka area. For information on the charities and to make a contribution, go to www.gofundme.com/elaine-offley-memorial.