From The Medford Mail Tribune, 12/21/14:

Nellie Fay Luther, 85, passed away gracefully December 9, 2014, at Rogue Valley Manor in Medford after a prolonged struggle with Alzheimer's disease.

Nellie was born in 1929 in Buffalo, N.Y. Her father, Claude C. Fay, worked as a transit system detective, and her mother, Willie L. Fay, worked as a homemaker. During her early years, Nellie lived in Buffalo and in Brooklyn, N.Y., and then in Pittsburgh, Pa. She then moved to Hayward, Calif., where her father continued to work as a detective.

In 1942, her father invested in a gardening and seed business, and the family moved to Boise, Idaho, where Nellie began high school. She graduated from Boise High in 1947 and, three years later, married Stanley R. Luther, who had just been commissioned as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, in Boise.

In the years that followed, Nellie accompanied Stan to many places on military assignment, including Georgia, Texas, Kansas, Washington, D.C., Japan, Madagascar, and Washington State.

She and Stan had three children (boys) during this time: David R. Luther (born 1952), Paul W. Luther (born 1954), and Thomas C. Luther (born 1959). She was a staunch supporter of her husband's military career and kept the family on track during his many absences on military deployment.

After Stan retired from the Air Force in 1978, he and Nellie remained in Spokane, Wash., to care for Nellie's ailing mother. Fifteen years later, Nellie moved with Stan to the Oregon Coast, where they built a beautiful house on a dune near the ocean. After thirteen years on the coast, they moved to Rogue Valley Manor in Medford, where she remained until her recent passing.

Nellie was an outgoing, gifted, and talented woman who touched the lives of many people wherever she lived. She was a dedicated wife and mother, but also a committed volunteer who always sought to make her community, and her country, better. Throughout her adult years, she regularly did volunteer work for the American Red Cross and, after her children had grown up, worked full-time for the Red Cross in Spokane, Wash., as the Director of Volunteer Services. She was a strong supporter of the Presbyterian Church and volunteered for church duties, serving at times as a Sunday school teacher, usher, deacon, elder, and committee chairperson. She also gave of herself to support the military units to which her husband was assigned, sponsoring military families and assisting military spouses. She will be sorely missed, but we know she is now at peace in the loving hands of God the Almighty.

Nellie is survived by her husband, her three children, her three daughters-in-law (Theresa, Linda, and Beth), eight grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren, all of whom she loved dearly.

An initial memorial service was held at Rogue Valley Manor in Medford on December 18, 2014. Final memorial services will be held at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., in the spring of 2015 on a date that is to be determined.