Ray Eslinger
Services for Ray will be held Saturday, April 2, 2022, at the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church at 10:30 a.m. with Pastor John Amundson officiating. Burial will follow the service at the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery. Upon burial, lunch will be served in the fellowship hall of the church.
Raymond Roy Eslinger of Granite Falls, WA passed away on Thursday, March 3, at the age of 89. After several months of declining health, Raymond died peacefully with his children by his side.
Raymond was born on a small farm in Burt, North Dakota on February 20, 1933, to father John Eslinger and mother Mathilda (Schaible) Eslinger. The oldest of four children, Ray had a strong work ethic from an early age and worked on his family’s farm milking cows and running farm equipment. After high school, he enlisted in the US Army and was stationed in Korean from 1955 -1957, following the Korean War.
Raymond returned to Elgin, North Dakota, and married Donna (Heinz) Eslinger in 1958. His desire to take care of his family brought him to Seattle, WA where he began a long career as a Heavy Equipment Operator for Local 302 Operating Engineers Union. Ray was a self-made through hard work and his career successes included work on the Alaskan Pipeline, four years on the Hawaiian Pipeline project in the 70’s and 80’s.
In his retirement years, Ray enjoyed his tractors, raising cattle and time with his four grandchildren on his farm. He took great pride with his own small cattle business called; Need More Land & Cattle Co.
Raymond is survived by his wife of 65 years Donna (Heinz) Eslinger, daughter Mary (Eslinger) Wysocki, son Michael Eslinger, grandchildren, Kristin Eslinger, Emma Wysocki, Matthew Wysocki, Leah Wysocki, sister’s Elaine (Eslinger) Mutschelknaus and Colleen (Eslinger) Vetter. He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Lucille Eslinger and son James Raymond Eslinger who died as an infant in 1963.
A visitation for Raymond was held Saturday, March 12, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., at the Bauer (Purdy and Kerr) Funeral Home on 409 West Main St., Monroe, WA. All were invited to attend.
Raymond will be laid to rest at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery in Elgin, North Dakota his by parents, and other family members.
The funeral service will be livestreamed and can be viewed by clicking the link “Click Here to View the Funeral for Ray” at the top of his obituary. The livestream may be viewed and condolences sent to the family through our website at www.evansonjensenfuneralhome.com.