Gay (Foley) Laverty Obituary (1929 - 2020)

Gay Foley Laverty, 91, died Tuesday, October 20, 2020, at Settler's Park, a Senior Lifestyle community in Baker City, Oregon. Gay was born June 6, 1929, in Pomeroy, WA, to Wayne C. and Isabelle (Freeburn) Foley. Gay earned her High School diploma from Greenleaf Friends Academy in Idaho in 1947, earned a BA at George Fox College in Newberg, Oregon in 1952, and a BS from Southern Oregon College in Ashland in 1955. She taught 2nd or 3rd grades in Sherwood, Oregon, from 1957 to 1959, and then applied to teach overseas with the Air Force Dependents School on Wheelus Air Base in Tripoli, Libya. It was there she met an Airman, Michael Laverty, who proposed marriage on their first date. They were both transferred to Sembach AFB in West Germany, where they married in 1961. Their children were born there, Kevin in 1962 and Maura in 1965. Gay and Mike returned to the US in 1965, where she taught in Klamath Falls, Oregon; Rantoul, Illinois; and then became a substitute teacher on Pope AFB in NC; and in Clarkston, WA. Gay was raised in the Friends Church as a Quaker but later became a Methodist in 1974, faithfully serving the Clarkston UMC as a Sunday School teacher, SS Superintendent, UM Women President, Circle Chair, and various committees'. Gay loved to travel, taking advantage of teaching overseas to visit all of the countries adjacent to where she taught school, including France and Italy, the Netherlands, and after retiring in Clarkston, traveled to Canada, Ireland, England, Wales, Japan, and especially enjoyed the Alpine Europe trip with George Fox University alumni to see the Passion Play in Oberammergau in 2010. And of course, she traveled all over the United States. Gay loved God, setting the example to all how to live as a Christian and telling the other residents at Settler's Park in Memory Care that God loved them, and so did she. Gay is survived by son Kevin (Angela) of Apollo Beach, Florida; daughter Maura of Baker City, Oregon; sister Jean Aitken of Kamiah, Idaho; numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and extended family members. She was preceded in death by her husband Mike in 2015, her parents, brothers Dean, Michael, and Jack. A memorial service will be held next summer at the Clarkston United Methodist Church in Washington when it is safe for everyone to be together. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of one's choice in Gay's memory through Gray's West & Co. Pioneer Chapel at 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814. Gay left us with this quote, "It's been a wonderful life with opportunities of working and traveling in a variety of areas. Meeting interesting people and making friends from all walks of life has been enriching. God has blessed me with a wonderful family and friends."