Floy Agnes Eshom was born January 19, 1915 in Wheatland, Wyoming and passed away February 17, 2012 at the age of 97 at home in Citrus Heights, CA.
Floy was the eldest child of Inez and Elden Eshom. Her father died when she was two and she was separated from her baby sister and mother for a time during which she lived on a ranch with her paternal grandparents and her father’s brothers and sister. This was a bittersweet time in Floy’s life. She was well loved and had many adventures on the ranch, but missed her mother. Her grandmother was very superstitious and imprinted these often funny ideas on young Floy in a way that lasted the rest of her life. On August 22, 1939 she married James Glen Pasley, a Missouri boy. They lived and raised their family on farms in Tiffin and Roscoe, Mo. In 1962 they moved to Corvallis, Oregon. They enjoyed many fun times with the Pasley family reunions, fishing trips, and other activities. Floy welcomed nieces and nephews to spend summers with them. James preceded her in death in May 1996. In December 1977, Floy married Walter Gray and they lived many happy years on their farm, Five Acres, in Lebanon, OR. Floy enjoyed gardening, farming and dancing during this time. Mr. Gray passed away in 1997.
Floy graduated from Wheatland High School and became a teacher, also a lifetime pattern. She graduated from Bolivar Baptist College in 1958 and continued her education ultimately obtaining a Masters Degree in education and library science from the University of Missouri. She was a professional woman long before there was women’s lib, becoming a respected and admired teacher, principal and librarian in 3 states: Wyoming, Missouri and Oregon. She was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma.
Floy was a classy, intelligent, funny woman who loved fashion, card games of all kinds (especially poker). She was a talented piano player who loved to dance, a talented photographer and a prolific letter writer. She was a wonderful cook (she also enjoyed eating) and gardener, enjoyed camping immensely and loved to read. She was an animal lover, especially horses. She excelled at every role in life she took on: daughter, granddaughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, niece, grandmother, great grandmother, great-great grandmother, and friend. She was a fine Christian lady full of life and sustained by her faith. Floy was the ultimate role model. She was a bona fide computer geek (thanks to her son-in-law Bob Wilson) and thoroughly enjoyed her friends on Facebook, Farmville, and Words with Friends. She was a fierce fantasy football league participant until her death. Floy wanted to be remembered for trying her best to make a good life for her family; for loving them; and for her strength, fair play, and fun side. She truly succeeded in all those areas and will be greatly missed by her family.
In addition to her husbands, Floy was preceded in death by a daughter, Patty; her sister, Edwina, and three brothers, Cecil, Lambert and Dean. She is survived by two sons, Ted (Sandra) of Ardmore, OK and Nick (Sandy) of Joplin, MO and one daughter, Gail (Bob Wilson) of Citrus Heights, CA; one brother, Donald of Fresno, CA; Eleven grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, one great-great grandson and one great-great granddaughter due in June 2012, in addition to numerous nieces and nephews.
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