La Plata County native Louise Mae Oldfield Short Eshelman died Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014, in Farmington. She was 87.
Mrs. Eshelman was born to George and Sophia Oldfield on Nov. 20, 1926, in Hesperus.
One of six children, she grew up on the Dryside and graduated from Durango High School.
She went on to earn an associate degree from Fort Lewis College at the old Hesperus Campus.
As a young woman, she married Wayne Short but was widowed early in their marriage by a tragic accident.
After earning a teaching certificate, Mrs. Eshelman began her career in education in Steamboat Springs.
When she returned to Durango, she met and married Vern Leroy Eshelman on May 20, 1951.
The couple bought a farm in Mancos, where they raised their two sons.
While living in Mancos, Mrs. Eshelman earned a bachelor's degree from Adams State College in Alamosa.
Once her sons were grown, she earned a master's degree from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.
During her life, she taught for more than 35 years in Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico.
In 1966, the Eshelmans moved to Teec Nos Pos, Ariz., for Mr. Eshelman's job with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The job also took them to Shiprock and Kirtland in New Mexico before they retired in Farmington, spending winters in Mesa, Ariz.
"Vern and Louisa were very passionate about square dancing," according to their family, "and stayed active dancers well into their later years."
The Eshelmans were active in the Bethany Christian Church in Farmington. They also enjoyed traveling and spending time with their grandchildren.
Mrs. Eshelman was preceded in death by her husband of 62 years, Vern Leroy Eshelman, eight weeks before her own death.
She is survived by her sons Terry Eshelman of Durango and Ronald Eshelman of Vail, Ariz.; brother George Oldfield of Farmington; two grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at a later date.
