Gloria Mae (Cory) Bixby

Obituary of Gloria Mae (Cory)Bixby

  Gloria Mae (Cory) Bixby, age 85 of Walker, MN, passed away at her home on April 23rd, 2026. She was born at home to James and Gertrude (Thoreson) Cory on January 2nd, 1941 in Pine River, MN.

  When she was young, she traveled all around the country out west and down south in an airstream with her parents. They would stop and stay a  while and James would do odd jobs for work, until  they moved on to the next one.

  At about the age of 9 or 10, they settled down on a farm in Park Rapids, MN. They had a small hobby farm, with a lot of animals, mainly sheep. Gloria would help with the care of the animals and sheering of the sheep. She also spent summers at her Aunt and Uncle Hugunin’s, where she would help tassel the corn.

  She was united in marriage to Gerald “Jerry” Bixby in September of 1957 in Iowa, while Jerry was on leave. They resided in Fort Bragg, NC while Jerry served in the US Army 82nd Airborne. Their union blessed them with three children, Sheryol, Norman, and Scott.

  Jerry and Gloria and their family moved to the twin cities after he was discharged from the service. They resided there for 18 years, where she was a housewife and mother. She also spent a few years caring for their little neighbor girl until she was old enough to go to school.

  They often spent their weekends up north at their cabin in Park Rapids, MN. Gloria was very close to her family.  She had many extended family members who lived in the area, but she was especially close to her mother. She enjoyed spending time with her mother cooking and gardening with her.

  In 1977, Jerry and Gloria moved up north and settled in Walker,MN. She worked at the local grocery store for a few years at Sandy’s Super Value as a cashier.  She then went to work at Ah Gwah Ching nursing home for over 20 years as an HST and eventually retired. She made many life long friends while working out there.

  For a short time, Gloria entered into an entrepreneurship with her good friend, Peggy Ziegler. They ran weekly classes on cleaning greenware and painting ceramics. She loved to display her creations and often gifted them to her friends and family.

  Gloria had many joys in her life. Her greatest joy was her family. She loved having them around for numerous celebrations and holidays. Everyone loved gathering in her home especially for Christmas and the 4th of July. There was never a shortage of food, fun, and laughter. She loved cooking wonderful meals and was especially talented at making home made chicken noodles from scratch (passed down by her mother). Everyone also loved her famous crab salad, which was a requirement by family and not a request. She was able to spend some special time with her niece, Rene making it shortly before she passed. Another tasty dish was her baked beans and she was often asked to make them for many occasions. One thing that was hard to get out of her was a recipe. Gloria was a “mix and pour”, a “dash of this” and a “little bit of that” when cooking and it would never disappoint. Everything she made, she always added a lot of love.

  She had many hobbies. She loved to read, paint ceramics, and especially garden. She and Jerry worked on a special project together in their back yard creating a beautiful garden with a pond, little walking paths, and an area for growing vegetables.  They spent many summers working on it and maintaining it until health issues prevented them from going down there. She was very proficient in identifying plants and how to care for them.

  Gloria and Jerry also enjoyed watching the birds, squirrels, rabbits and chipmunks together through their kitchen door. They also had many pets throughout the years who were lucky to be loved and cared by them. Gloria is going to be especially missed by her little munchkin cat, Lily.

  Gloria often spent time caring for her grandbabies, whom she dearly loved, when their parents were out of town. They spent time having movie nights, going to the park, playing in the yard, and walking up to the Dairy Queen.

  Gloria and Jerry also took several trips with family and friends. They visited out west in Montana, Oregon, Las Vegas, Michigan, Georgia,  and Nashville.

  Gloria is survived by her sons, Norman (Peggy) Bixby of Walker, MN and Scott (Sandra) of Erskine, MN, nine grandchildren, nineteen great grandchildren, six great-great grandchildren, and her special little cat, Lily.

  Gloria is proceeded in death by her parents, James and Gertrude, her husband, Jerry, sisters Irene and Joyce, brother Gene, daughter, Sheryol, grandson Nathan, several brothers-in-law and a sister-in-law.

A celebration of Gloria's life will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, May 2, 2026.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the service all held at the Walker Community Church in Walker.  Pastor Michael Small will officiate.  A private family inurnment will be held at Evergreen Cemetery in Walker following the service.

Gloria’s care has been entrusted to the Northern Peace Funeral Home of Walker, MN.  Online condolences for the family may be given at www.northernpeace.com

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