Eleanor Rutherford biography: 13 things about Spokane, Washington native

Who was Eleanor Rutherford?

Eleanor “Scottie” Cornelius Rutherford was a Norwegian-American woman born in Spokane, Washington, United States. She is one of the four children of Joseph Morand Cornelius and Freida Eike Cornelius.

An alumna of Walla Walla High School in Walla Walla, Washington, Eleanor was active in civic organizations and local theater in Spokane and was involved with the Greater Spokane Music and Allied Arts Festival.

Rutherford and her husband Archie Rutherford lived in South Hill, Spokane. Here are 13 more things about her:

1. She was an active member of the Mother’s Guild at St. George’s School in Spokane and a charter member of the Spokane Philharmonic Associates, which became Assistants, Inc.
2. She actively helped raising funds for the Hutton Settlement in Spokane.
3. She served as president of the service league with The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Spokane and state president of the Women’s Auxiliary of Washington State Junior Chamber of Commerce.
4. She has three brothers namely Joseph Cornelius, Elmer Cornelius and Stanley Robert Cornelius.
5. At a very young age, she, Elmer and Stanley were moved to an orphanage in Walla Walla. Elmer remained in Spokane while Joseph moved to Florida, USA and Stanley moved to California, USA.
6. She worked for The Spokesman-Review as a feature and society writer for 21 years.
7. She was 6 years older than Archie.
8. She was born in 1918.
9. In 1946, she gave birth to Stanley L. Rutherford.
10. On May 22, 1982, she went on a trip.
11. Since May 23, 1982, she had not heard from Archie.
12. On May 25, 1982, Archie was supposed to meet her at the airport. She became worried when he did not show up. At 4:40 p.m., she arrived home in South Hill and found him dead. He was fatally stabbed allegedly by Tracy Sabron Pruitt, then 22.
13. On August 18, 1996, she died at the age of 78.

On October 27, 2022, Pruitt was arrested in Los Angeles, California for Archie’s murder. On May 30, 2023, Spokane County spokesperson Jessica Hines announced Pruitt’s death.

While in the Spokane County Jail in Spokane, Pruitt died of bilateral pulmonary thromboemboli due to right lower extremity deep vein thrombosis. He was 63.