AILEEN BLOKER LAYON

Nov. 9, 1932 - Oct. 1, 2019

Aileen Bloker Layon, 86, of El Centro, CA passed away on Tuesday, October 1, 2019 due to complications of Alzheimer’s Disease. Aileen was born on November 9, 1932 in Rutland, South Dakota. She was raised and attended school in Grand Forks, North Dakota and later attended College in Minneapolis and San Francisco. It was while working in the medical library at the University of North Dakota that she first met her future husband, Eli Layon. After moving to San Francisco in the 50’s where she worked in industrial relations, she re-met Eli, who by this time was completing his OB/GYN residency. Eli and Aileen were married soon after on March 2, 1957.

After a short stay in Ridgecrest, CA the new couple moved to Brawley, CA where they lived for 14 years and started their family. During this time Aileen helped her husband establish his medical practice and did the bookkeeping. In 1972 they moved to El Centro, CA where she lived out her remaining years.

Aileen was active for many years in the Medical Society Auxiliary and both the National Foundation and San Diego/Imperial Council of Girl Scouts where she served as a National Delegate. She was known for her beautiful black and white photographs which she developed in her own darkroom. Many of her photographs were displayed in venues in San Diego and locally, earning several awards. Her hobbies were traveling, reading and ancient history. She especially loved her trips with her two sisters, Jean and Jeanette. Her favorite place to travel was New York where she attended many Broadway shows. Aileen also co-owned The Plush Place for several years in downtown El Centro.

Aileen was a pro at entertaining. She loved to cook, come up with new recipes and have dinner parties. She will be remembered mostly as being a wonderful wife, mother, sister, aunt and grandmother to her immediate and extended family. Everyone that met her was left feeling a little more special because of her kind and generous nature which was a true reflection of her Christian faith. One of her caregivers described her best, ‘She was a woman of rare courage and possessed a beauty of soul that could not be erased by Alzheimers’s. Her gentle smile and genuine love and concern for others were still evident even in the midst of her later sufferings.”

Aileen was preceded in death by her parents, Lester and Bernice Bloker; sisters, Jean Knudtson (Jerry) and Ardys Bloker. She is survived by her husband of 62 years, Eli A. Layon, M,D. of El Centro and daughters, Mindy Layon of San Francisco and Linda Layon Watson (Tom) of El Centro. She is also survived by her 2 precious grandsons, Eliott and Connor Watson, sister, Jeanette Cantrell (Jack); numerous nieces and nephews and her extended Watson and Scaroni families.

The family extends our deepest gratitude to Aileen’s caregivers, Anna, Teri, and Ruthie, and special thanks to Christina Etchegary for her unwavering love, support and care. We will be forever grateful.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Time and place to be announced.