Bobbi Lou (Mosley) Gary died on Jan. 7. She was 87. A funeral service will be held Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 11 a.m. at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, 8501 N. Chautauqua.
Bobbi was born on Dec. 25, 1923 in Muskogee, Okla., the youngest of five children born to Edna Mae (McCormick) Mosley and Whaley Mosley. During her early years, the family relocated to Kansas City, Missouri where Bobbi grew up loved, pampered and spoiled by her parents, older sisters and doting brother. After graduating from Booker T. Washington High School, she began to show the spirit and boldness that she came to be known for, announcing to her family her intention to 'go West" with her best friend to attend business school, and see the world outside the Midwest.
After arriving in Oregon, she quickly landed a job at the bustling Kaiser Shipyards as a tool marker and became an active participant in the development of women's programs in the Vanport community in far north Portland, now known as Delta Park.
Before too long, Bobbi caught the eye of a fine, young Tuskegee man, Frederick Douglas Gary, Jr., and their courtship led to a marriage that lasted for nearly 30 years. They had one son who died in infancy, then four daughters, Sharon Joy Gary-Smith, Carla Denise Gary, Linda Michelle Gary, and Daria Lynn Bradford. Thus, the foundation for Bobbi's "powerful, unapologetic matriarchy" was set. The daughters had four granddaughters and produced five great granddaughters.
Bobbi and Fred Gary reminded their daughters that "to those whom much is given, much is expected," and that their achievements would be based on the strength of their reach, not the limitations the larger society might impose on them.
Pride in her race, a sense of responsibility for children and families, and social justice for all were guiding principles. Her resume is a roll call of diverse community, state and national affiliations that included the Board of Directors, Portland Metropolitan Steering Committee, (PMSC), Portland's War on Poverty program; Board of Directors, Black United Fund of Oregon; Member, Black United Front; first black female president of a Portland Public Schools PTA [Eliot School, now the Young Women's Leadership Academy]. She was a national board member, Church Women United and the national funding board of Homeland Missions, on the national board of the Older Women's League; the board of directors and the funding committee of McKenzie River Gathering Foundation; President, Portland Gray Panthers; board member, National Gray Panthers; Oregon Mother of the Year 1st runner-up (1986); Chair, State of Oregon Office of Long-Term Care Ombudsman; and member, National Association of Black Social Workers.
She was proud of the number of rallies she attended for women's rights, workers rights, and quality public education, and loved to recall the number of times she was arrested outside the South African Consulate for protesting apartheid.
Bobbi Gary's constant quest for knowledge led her to return to school in the early '70s, and she proudly received her degree from Portland State University in the School of Social Work at the same time her youngest daughter graduated from Pacific University. She took graduate courses specializing in black gerontology, studying black aging. Her work history included employment as an Oregon State Extension agent assisting low-income families with financial planning and access to resources. She continued to combine social service and activism while serving as an assistant director of LIFE Center, as a case worker at the Urban League's Multicultural Senior Center, the volunteer coordinator of the Marie Smith Center of Volunteers of America, and sitting on numerous boards and community committees.
In 2007, she was hesitant to accept transition from her home of five decades to a memory care facility. However, she immediately became the 'queen bee' delighting other residents as she regaled them with stories of her travels for local and national activism, playing mama to some, and a serious word-puzzle and domino player to others.
Bobbi Gary was preceded in death by her mother and father, four sisters and a brother. She leaves to mourn her memory her daughters, Sharon Gary-Smith, Portland; Carla Gary, Eugene; Linda Gary, Portland; and Daria Bradford, Vancouver, WA.; granddaughters, Mariotta Gary-Smith, Portland; Tanesha Montoya, Portland; Bobbie Lynn Gary, Portland; and Danielle Bradford, Vancouver; five great granddaughters, Sadiya McKelvey, Azaesha Ivory, Amaya Montoya, Maikaili Carter, and DeAhnni Marcell, all of Portland. In addition to her original children, she added two "daughters", Gloria J. Fluker and LaVerne Springer-Green, and three "sons", Robert Boyer, Thomas Eugene Miller, and Dennis G. Payne to her circle, as well as two sons-in-law, Arthur J. Bradford and Sonny Montoya, and a host of justice allies and great friends.
A public viewing is scheduled from 4 to 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 18 at Terry Family Funeral Home, 2337 N. Williams Ave.
