Coy Blaine Eshom

Coy Blaine Eshom of Port Orchard died Oct. 22. He was 86 years old.

A loving husband, father and grandpa, Coy will be remembered for his wanderlust, leadership, willingness to teach, and the great stories from his life.

Born July 28, 1938, in Billings, Montana, to Nelson Blaine Eshom and Ina Mae (Pewitt Potter) Eshom, Coy lived his early life in Laurel, Montana. The family later moved to Sequim and settled in Kingston. He graduated from North Kitsap High School in 1956. He attended Washington State College for a year before enlisting in the U.S. Navy and was later stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, aboard the U.S.S. Mullinnix.

Coy married Judy Barrett in 1963. They started their life together in Seattle where Coy worked odd jobs before hiring on at Todd Shipyards. In the spring of 1966, Coy started at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton. Their son Steven was born in 1967, and Port Orchard became the family’s forever home. Coy retired from PSNS in the summer of 1993 after a rewarding career in combat systems.

Coy loved to travel around the Northwest. The family took many trips to visit their favorite campgrounds here and in Canada. The memories from these travels are among those most cherished by the family.

In 1958, Coy purchased 40 acres of forested land on the Key Peninsula. This land became a lifelong passion for Coy. He loved beautiful forests and wanted his to be beautiful too. He and Steve attended a Washington State University Extension training for small forest landowners in 1980. This began Coy’s forest management journey and formed the foundation of Eshom Tree Farm.

Coy spent countless hours in his forest, lovingly harvesting, planting, pruning, and cleaning up. His efforts provided an example for the community of how a forest can be beautiful and produce forest products too. Anyone who interacted with Coy on the tree farm was welcomed and likely learned a little bit about forestry.

Coy is survived by his wife Judy (Barrett) Eshom; son Steven Eshom; daughter-in-law Tammy (Lawen) Eshom; and granddaughters Rachel (Ethan Birrel) and Haley Eshom.

He was preceded in death by his father Blaine and mother Ina, three half-sisters and two half-brothers.

A celebration of Coy’s life will be held at 2 p.m., Jan. 10, 2025, at Rill’s Life Tribute Center, 1151 Mitchell Avenue, Port Orchard.