Edith Loraine Thompson
February 2, 1930 – March 29, 2023

Edith Loraine (Courtright) Thompson, 93, of Sweet Home, was born on February 2, 1930 to Mabel Amelia (Gordon) and Guy Courtright in Oregon. Edith was the youngest of her siblings: Floyd Courtright, Earl Courtright and Wanda Courtright. Edith or “Grandma” said goodbye to us peacefully at Samaritan Albany General Hospital on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. Her surviving children were; Paul Walters, Steve Walters and Judi Baker along with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren that loved her dearly. 

Looking through all of my grandmothers portraits of her life she lived from a baby, to a girl. From a girl to a woman, I can’t help but smile because she lived quite a life. She hunted, she worked, she cooked, she loved, she traveled, she learned and experienced so many great things and touched so many peoples lives along the way. 

Grandma was not a stranger to love or marriage. She married five times in her long life. Her first marriage was to Harvey Walters, which she had her three sons with; John Walters, Paul Walters and Steven Walters. I’m not certain specific dates for all of the other marriages in between, but Grandma married Roy Falk shortly after her marriage to Harvey. She met Robert Baker and they married and had two daughters; Judi Baker and Peggi Baker. She married again to a Kenneth Nygarrd. And lastly met her final and true love, Richard Thompson. 

Her last marriage in her life, Richard Philip Thompson in Houston, Texas in 1985. Richard or “Papa” was the love of her life according to grandma. Grandma and Papa moved to Oregon and bought a house together that they called home. All of the children, grandchildren and everyone else in the family would also call it home and gather at for holidays, BBQ’s, weekends and more for years to come. 

Grandma and Papa loved working on their home together. Their yard was one to envy. It was pristine. Grandma would pick out the flowers she wanted to be planted and Papa would get to work. They were a team through and through. Grandma was an excellent cook and loved to dote on her husband and family, and we were all ready to eat her yummy makings. Grandma was ALWAYS in the kitchen doing something. One thing she loved to do was make fresh jelly and jam. Grandma and Papa would ride their bikes down River Road in the summer to the blackberry bushes by the river and fill up as many 5 gallon buckets they could so grandma could make jam and jelly and give them out to all the family members to enjoy.  Since that was such a big passion for them, they went to work once again and planted a huge raspberry garden in the backyard to have fresh berries from their garden daily. One of my fondest childhood memories was helping Grandma pick all the berries in the summer. I might have snuck a berry here or there along the way. 

Besides gardening and working on their home together, they loved to go camping or “glamping” in their trailer with the entire family at the Oregon Coast. Many weekends were spent at the Oregon dunes to ride the quads and buggy’s and roast hot dogs over the open fire. Many card games were played, many drinks were drank, yes, by Grandma on occasion, and most importantly many memories were made there. 

Sadly, Richard passed in February of 1998 leaving Grandma alone to live the rest of her life. After years of living alone, grandma moved in with her daughter Peggi as they were practically inseparable. Grandma and Peggi moved around and to different states over the time they lived together having different adventures. 

After years of living in Washington, both Grandma and Peggi moved back to Oregon to care for Kadince and Christian as foster parents. Grandma loved those kids and all of her grandchildren with her entire heart and made sure they all knew how loved and special they all were. Grandma often told me that she was raised without a lot of affection from her parents and that it was not natural for her to say “I love you” and give a lot physical affection. But, I never felt that way with Grandma. I always remembered warmth and love from her. That was Grandma and wherever she lived. She knew how to cure all illnesses, bandage every “boo-boo”, bake homemade cakes to celebrate everyone’s birthdays, go all out for Christmas with her decorations and gift giving, attend all the band concerts and so much more. 

The last place Grandma lived was in Sweet Home with her daughter Peggi. They lived in a cozy trailer together with all of their kitties. As Grandma aged, she started to loose her eyesight and was diagnosed with dementia. Both of these things made it hard for her to navigate her living space. It was time for Grandma to have more hands on care. Peggi made sure to find the best place for Grandma to live that was still close to her as she wanted to be able to see her weekly. Timberwood Court Memory Care was Grandma’s last home. Grandma loved it there. She made many friends, had so many fun celebrations for the holidays, ate a lot of great food, sat on Santa’s lap during Christmas time, had many visits with her family members over the years and was well loved and taken care of there. 

Peggi fell ill in February 2023 and took a turn for the worse in March 2023 and passed March 21, 2023, a week before her mother passed. Grandma must have known because she decided that it was also her time to depart this place and head to the next to see everyone she loved. Several family members were able to go see and give Grandma our last hugs, foot rubs, hand holding and LOVE before she peacefully slipped away as she slept. 

We all love you Grandma. We know that you are up in Heaven baking away, planting all the flowers, playing cards with Papa, saying hi to John and Peggi, petting all the kitties, eating all the delicious food and living life everyday in the sun. A celebration of life for both Peggi Ann Rush and Edith will be held 1:30 pm Saturday May 27th at Leaburg Hatchery, 90700 Fish Hatchery Rd, Leaburg, OR 97489. Sweet Home Funeral Chapel is handling arrangements. www.sweethomefuneral.com