Mrs. Gregory Leigh Fore Boyd Elton, age 102, of Kennesaw, GA, was called home to her Lord on Tuesday, May 29, 2018. She passed away peacefully in her sleep at the home of her daughter, Cynthia Miller, after dining with her family and kissing her great-grandson goodnight.
Very much alive and alert until the last minutes of her 102 years, Gregory was a bright light, who lit up with a warm smile and sparkling blue eyes whenever you greeted her. Always ready to hold your hand and listen or tell stories while you sat with her, Gregory was extremely poignant, a skilled conversationalist, and well-versed in virtually any subject, modern or historic. With impeccable memory, she spoke openly about her childhood in West Virginia, her career experience as an executive secretary and mother of three in Ohio, and her retirement years in Florida. She was very much in tune with the times and was even active on Facebook until recently. But her favorite subjects to talk about were her family and geography.
Gregory was born on January 3, 1916, in Keysville, Virginia, one of three daughters of the late Homer Clyde Fore and Sarah Pinkney Fore. Gregory grew up in a very modest, home during the Great Depression and talked of the difficulties therein, especially after her father died. Yet, most of her stories were about how much she adored dancing into the wee hours at community balls, asked by all of the local gentlemen, as she was the best dancer in the town. She revered her mother, a retired schoolteacher who made the family’s clothes and biscuits twice a day, and who was in every way a proper lady. Gregory felt she, herself, was the “black sheep” of the family, but only because she loved to have fun rather than study all of the time. She was the third-best student in her class, rather than valedictorian or salutatorian like her two sisters... Profoundly intelligent, Gregory did not have the opportunity to attend university, but, instead, went to work as an accountant to support her family. She married Nelson Boyd, the love of her life and father of her three children, who later died of cancer after serving in World War II. Gregory spoke lovingly about her Nelson until the day she died.
Geography was another favorite topic of Gregory’s, and she would tell tales of her world travels, primarily with her second husband, Richard Elton, who was a beloved grandfather to her seven grandchildren. From their home base in Ocala, Florida, Gregory and Richard (“Dick”) toured North America and the Caribbean, Gregory chatting with locals wherever they went to learn about their culture. She poured over maps of all kinds, somehow always remembering the names of rivers in various states and countries, but mainly interested in the life stories of the people living in the places she visited. Gregory never met a stranger.
Gregory lived in her own home in Ocala, Florida, even driving her own car, until she was 97 years old. After losing her middle son, David, to cancer and following the death of her first son, Stuart, some years prior, Gregory came to live with her daughter and son-in-law, Cynthia and Mike Miller, in Kennesaw.
In the last years of Gregory’s life, she attended Kennesaw United Methodist Church but remained a member of Silver Springs Shores Presbyterian Church in Ocala, where her cremated remains will be interned in the church rose garden.
Gregory is remembered as a loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend, who will be sorely missed, but who is undoubtedly thrilled to be reunited with loved ones and enthusiastically making many new friends in Heaven.
A memorial service in Gregory’s honor will be held at Kennesaw United Methodist Church on Friday, June 22, at 4:00 PM.
