This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: marysday Surnames: Demaray, Coats, Hewitt, Classification: obituary Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.oregon.counties.lincoln/5621/mb.ashx Message Board Post: The News Times, Newport, OR 97365 Posted: Wednesday, Nov 3rd, 2010 Elois Demaray Elois Edwina (Coats) Demaray, 86, died of complications from a broken hip and advanced Alzheimer's disease in Woodland, Calif. on Sept. 1, 2010. She was born Oct. 3, 1923 to Edward Morris Coats and Leeta Inez Hewitt in Albany, Ore. Her mother's family were pioneers who came to the Oregon territory on the first organized wagon train in 1843. For many years, they held a land grant in the Willamette Valley, north of Salem. Her father's family were bridge builders who settled near Stayton in 1884. She grew up during the Great Depression, and came of age during World War II. She met her husband, Ernest Mason Demaray, while working as a waitress at the Palm Café in McMinnville. They were married in Bakersfield, Calif. They were soon parted, while he flew 31 combat missions as a bomber pilot in Europe for the 8th Airforce. She had many occupations and never had trouble finding a job. She ran a country store, riveted aircraft for Ryan Aeronautical, kept accounting books, worked as a newspaper reporter and as an executive secretary. But her career was teaching. She obtained her B.A., and M.S. degrees while working fulltime and caring for her family. She taught fourth grade through high school in Fremont, Calif., for 21 years. She had an unshakable faith that education was the answer to society's problems, and served that cause by schooling many young minds. She will be remembered as an early leader in environmental education in the San Francisco Bay Area. She received her master's degree in environmental education from California State University at Hayward in 1976, and developed the first such curriculum used in the Fremont School District. She and her husband Mason retired to Panther Creek, near Lincoln City in the mid-1980s. There she was active in the Garden Club, the DAR, and the Hat Club. During this time she organized and taught an informal summer school for the local kids at the Panther Creek community center. She is survived by two sons, eight grandchildren, and one great-grandson. A memorial gathering is planned for the first Sunday of August, in conjunction with the Hewitt, Cooper, Matheny Family Reunion, at the Hopewell Cemetery in Oregon. Elois has a Facebook page. Friends are invited to become her Facebook friend and share their memories with her family. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.