Elaine Spratt, Hancock Park resident and long standing LA Tennis Club member passed away February 28, 2020. (photo courtesy of Spratt’s family)
Elaine Spratt passed away peacefully in her home on Friday, February 28, 2020, with family by her side. Born August 5, 1931, Dorothy Elaine Spratt was a talented musician and avid tennis player. The Los Angeles Tennis Club shared the news of the passing of its longest and nearest-residing member of sixty-two years. Spratt’s stunning pink bougainvillea could be seen from the club’s back tennis courts, which abutted her Cahuenga home. Following her passing, the Club sent out the following remembrance to members:
“Member endorsements from her 1958 application for Women’s Membership uniformly describe her as hailing from a lovely family, being a talented and well-educated person who possessed the highest quality of character.
The EPITOME of a lady… Elaine,” recalled LATC member Grace Fritzinger. “As a longtime member of LATC, I have known Elaine for many years. We were part of the early morning tennis group. We sure had a great time for many years!”
Spratt, far right, at the Los Angeles Tennis Club with friends. (photo courtesy of Spratt’s family)
Elaine was known in the neighborhood for her glorious garden and daily piano playing sessions. Legions of preschoolers and their parents walked past her house on Cahuenga, and one young boy in particular routinely nudged his Mom to stop and sit on Elaine’s front steps while he listened to her playing the piano.
A perfectionist and master of many talents, Elaine played tennis, the violin and the piano throughout her life. After graduating from Stanford where she played tennis and studied cartography, Elaine hopped on an eastbound train for a stint working for the government in Washington DC, racket and violin in hand.
Her niece, Elaine, credits her namesake for being a feminist before her time, and helping her to charter her own life as a woman. In her professional life Elaine was a social scientist, systems analyst, worked for the Rand Company, and as a real estate agent. An expert negotiator, her nephew Peter proudly recalls that on more than one occasion Elaine made a car dealer cry, all the while enjoying the game, and leaving the dealership with a great deal on a car!
A sport enthusiast all her life, Elaine was front and center watching matches and tournaments on Center Court with rapt, unmoving attention and focus.
We are pleased that Elaine was with us to usher in the Club’s Centennial year. No truer words could be written than those of an endorsement on her application “The Club would be fortunate in having this outstanding young lady as a member. LATC has been privileged by its longtime association with our nearest neighbor, Elaine Spratt.”
According to her obituary, Elaine “was preceded in death by her parents, Raymond and Dorothy Spratt, and her nephew, David Stewart. She is survived by her sister, Jacquelyn Stewart of Prescott Valley, AZ, her niece, Elaine Harris of Lincoln, NE, and her nephew Peter Stewart of San Diego.” Also, “The family gathered for a private remembrance. There will be no other service. If you wish to leave a gift of remembrance in her name, the family suggests the Castleton Ranch Horse Rescue, the American Cancer Society, or a charity of your choice.”
Patricia Lombard is the publisher of the Larchmont Buzz. Patty lives with her family in Fremont Place. She has been active in neighborhood issues since moving here in 1989. Her pictorial history, "Larchmont" for Arcadia Press is available at Chevalier's Books.
