Carolyn Louise Eshe

May 27, 1932 – June 8, 2026

Carolyn Louise Pourroy-Eshe passed away peacefully at the age of 94 on June 8, 2026, at Northern Nevada Hospital in Sparks, Nevada. She was surrounded by her family at her passing, including her husband of 49 years, Reynold Eshe, her children Janice Jackovic, Rosemary Schwimmer and her husband John Schwimmer, Edward Jackovic, and her stepsons Jeff Eshe, David Eshe, Craig Eshe and his wife Rose Eshe.

Carolyn was born to farmers, Medard and Rosalie Pourroy. This upbringing led to her life-long love of gardening. In one of her houses, she planted one each of several fruit trees in her backyard, establishing her own little orchard. She also enjoyed going to the movies and eagerly awaited the release of the James Bond films. She especially loved musicals, with the Sound of Music and Finian’s Rainbow being her favorites, playing the records of their musical scores over and over. Her favorite artists were Chet Atkins, Glen Campbell and Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. In her later years, she delighted at watching Lawrence Welk reruns.

She really enjoyed the holidays and when she lived in an A-Frame home with a 25-foot ceiling, she had a 25-foot Christmas tree every year. She enjoyed learning new things and took painting, ice-skating, and advanced sewing lessons. Carolyn was a crafter and an expert seamstress. She always had a project going. She loved clowns and had a huge collection of Emmett Kelley memorabilia. Sunflowers were her favorites and she had an entire room decorated in that theme. Her favorite color was green, which she wore often as it complemented her red hair, forest green eyes and fair skin. Emeralds were her favorite stone.

One of Carolyn’s proudest achievements was receiving her nursing degree in 1966. She started her nursing career working in the Intensive Care Unit at Good Samaritan Hospital. In 1981, Carolyn received her certification as an Occupational Health Nurse and jumped at the chance to work at the Lockheed Missiles and Space Test Facility in Santa Cruz, California. Carolyn received several awards for her service, including an Outstanding Achievement Award and the President’s Award from the Lockheed Management Association, and earned a spot in Who’s Who in American Nursing sponsored by the Society of Nursing Professionals.

She was honored to be on the medical team when the Pope visited California and was a pioneer in training Emergency Medical Technicians to perform CPR. In May of 1986, Carolyn received her Bachelor of Science from Chapman University through a Lockheed-sponsored program that allowed her to complete her education. Carolyn traveled to nursing conventions all over the United States. She spent her “retirement” as a traveling nurse administering occupational health services for many companies, ultimately taking a position with the California Prison System managing communicable disease control.

Carolyn loved the outdoors, camping and fishing. She and Rey put many miles on their travel trailer. She sang in the local choir and was in the women’s club. Her grandfather, Pierre Pourroy, was a winemaker and Carolyn enjoyed a glass of red wine every night until her passing. She was an animal lover and she and Rey raised horses, goats and several dogs on their property in Susanville, California. She leaves behind her precious pups Melody and Lucky.

She was a devoted grandmother and loved her grandchildren Jason Novak, Jacob Schwimmer, Lucy Leo, Daisy Schwimmer, Alexis Jackovic, Kristina Jackovic, Capricia McGowan, Tes Trier, Tommy Eshe, Chris Eshe, Waylon Nicolaisen, Jesse Nicolaisen, Katie Stewart, Sarah Kuba and Sophia Katosh-Eshe. She also loved her many great-grandchildren, including Gertrude Novak, Eloise Novak, Abigail Grillo, Violet Guerrero, Leo Guerrero, Xavier Nevarez, AJ Anacleto, Shylah Anacleto, Giovanni Eshe, Skyler Eshe, Blake Trier, Ashton Hipple, Bentley Miller and Charlie Chapman.

To honor Carolyn, we ask that you make a donation in her name to the charity of your choice.