Linoma Styskal Gragson's Obituary
Linoma Faye (Styskal) Gragson was born in Kearney, Nebraska on November 26, 1946, to Helen and Elmer Styskal. She was their first child. Early in 1951 her only sibling, Ramona Kaye arrived. Elmer was a brick mason and Helen was a stay-at -home mother. Kearney, Nebraska was a small town 1,733 miles from both the east coast and the west coast. The town had a State Teachers College, a regional Tuberculosis Hospital and a Boys Training School. The family lived in a modest house just 3 blocks south of the college campus.
Helen Styskal played the piano by heart so the girls both took piano lessons from a neighbor down the street. Linoma also took baton twirling lessons from another neighbor. In Junior High she was a majorette. She also participated in concert and marching band playing the flute.
In her senior year in High School Linoma began dating Gary Gragson, a college student and the older brother of a classmate. Linoma and Gary dated for 3 years during which time he enlisted in the Army. After Linoma's sophomore year in college while Gary was in Officer Candidate School at Ft. Benning, Georgia, Linoma and Gary were married. When Gary went to Vietnam, Linoma returned home and completed her junior year of college. Following Gary's tour in Vietnam, and with only 6 months left to serve, Gary was stationed at the Ft. DeRussy R&R Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Linoma joined him in 1969 and they never left.
Linoma completed her senior year of college at the University of Hawaii, Manoa Campus in Honolulu. She graduated with a B.A. Liberal Arts in Sociology in the spring of 1971. She eventually worked 25 years in corporate Human Resources office for Liberty House, the retail division of AMFAC. Her position there was eliminated when Macy's bought the stores. After a brief period with Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties, she joined Aston Hotels and Resorts (later to become Aqua-Aston Hospitality) also in the corporate Human Resources department where she worked 13 years. In January 2017 Linoma retired at age 70.
After many years without religious affiliation, Linoma studied the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses and was baptized on April 15, 2000. She was an active member of the Palolo Congregation in Honolulu, Hawaii, later to become the Palolo Hawaiian Pidgin Congregation. Linoma served Jehovah until her death on December 28, 2023.
She is preceded in death by her parents Helen and Elmer Styskal and her husband Gary Gragson. She is survived by her sister and brother-in-law Ramona and Nick Weighton and sister-in-law Linda Booth.
Services will be held at the Diamond Head Mortuary on February 18, 2024. Visitation at 1:00pm and Program at 1:30pm.
Memorials may be made to the Hawaii Humane Society or the American Cancer Society.
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