Hilbert "Pete" Ray Elliott

Hilbert “Pete” Ray Elliott was born November 14, 1933, in Eugene, Oregon, to Hilbert Smith and Naoma (Rooks) Elliott. He grew up with a younger brother and a younger sister. Hilbert only attended school until he was about 13 when he started working. He rode the rail all over Oregon and Washington finding work picking fruit to make enough money to get by, staying in hobo camps along the way.  Pete had a large group of friends that he hung out with and they all liked to play golf. Sharon Foster was one of that group of friends that he had known for some time. The couple fell in love and were married in Tahoe, Nevada in 1980. They owned land on Rodgers Mountain just outside of Scio, Oregon, where they farmed Christmas trees for many years. Pete and Sharon sold trees wholesale and traveled to California each year for two months to run a Christmas tree lot where they sold the trees retail to the public.  Taking care of their trees and land was full-time, year-round work and they had very little free time. When they did find time, they would travel to California to visit family.  Once Pete retired, they bought land farther down the mountain and eventually built their retirement home. Even after they quit farming trees, he still spent most of his time working around their property and on their home. He did enjoy being with friends and had a routine where he would head into Stayton a couple of times a week to meet some long-time friends at a local pub to sit and visit.  Pete was a smart man and loved to do research on various topics, reading books and searching the internet, and always gaining knowledge. He was a Christian and loved to study the Bible, trying to understand the meaning of things and doing word studies. Friends meant a lot to both Pete and Sharon, and they would host dinners often and spend hours visiting with their friends. Pete loved to laugh and was quite the jokester. He enjoyed watching older comedy shows like the Carol Burnett Show and Mama’s Family.  Dogs were always a huge part of Pete’s life, most recently his constant companion was a Golden Retriever named “Red” that Sharon bought him. The two were inseparable and went everywhere together. Pete passed away suddenly on June 5, 2019, on the mountain he loved.  Hilbert was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings Alvin and Sally. He is survived by his wife of almost 39 years, Sharon; son Scott; step-daughters Debbie and Kim (Bobby); grandchildren Laell, Anna, Kirsten, Lee-lee, and Bobby III, JJ and Chris; and his brother Craig Hanke of Eugene. Celebration of life Saturday, September 14, 2019, at 11 am, at Weddle Funeral Service.