George R. Gray, Sr.
George R. Gray, Sr., 91, of North Ridge Road, husband of the late
Mary E. (McDonald) Gray, passed peacefully Wednesday evening August
20, 2008 at the Kaplan Hospice House in Danvers.
Born in Cambridge June 26, 1917, the son of the late Alexander G.
and Elizabeth (Sullivan) Gray and a 1934 graduate of Cambridge Latin
High School. He was employed at the Ford Motor assembly plant in
Somerville before enlisting in the US Navy. He was stationed in
Great Britain and Ireland as armed forces prepared for the D-Day
invasion. Married in 1945 in Brighton, the Grays lived in Billerica
and summered in Ipswich for many years, moving to Ipswich in 1965.
He worked as a self-employed carpenter before going to work as a
building supervisor at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in
Jamaica Plain. He also skillfully designed and built homes and
additions for his family. Following his 1988 retirement he was able
to devote more time to his hobbies, enjoying spending time on the
water around Cape Ann. He was an enthusiastic Red Sox fan and a
recreational lobsterman. He was a long time member of the St
Joseph’s Church and Our Lady of Hope Parish, a former member of the
Ipswich Bay Yacht Club, and a member of the Ipswich Council on
Aging, where he was active in the Monday Men’s Group.
He
is survived by his son, George Gray and his wife Marcia, his
daughters, Patricia Pallazola and her husband Gaspar and Nancy
Gray-Smith and her husband Robert, all of Ipswich, grandchildren
Adam Gray of Ipswich, Nathan Gray of Amesbury, Douglas Gray of
Batavia, IL, and Erin Pallazola, Megan Pallazola, Kristin Smith and
Heather Smith, all of Ipswich. He is also survived by four
great-grandchildren, Theodore, Madeleine, Caroline and Thomas Gray,
a sister, Lillian Martin of Cambridge, and many nieces and nephews.
He was the brother of the late John Gray, formerly of Billerica,
Robert Gray, formerly of Cambridge, Irene Gray, formerly of CA, and
Jean Bouley, formerly of NH.
His
funeral will be held Saturday August 23, 8 am from the
Whittier-Porter Funeral Home, 6 High Street, Ipswich, followed by a
9 am Mass of Christian burial in Our Lady of Hope Church, Pineswamp
Road, Ipswich. Family and friends respectfully invited. Interment
with Naval Honors will be in the Cowles Memorial Cemetery, Ipswich.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in his name may be made
to the Ipswich Council on Aging, 25 Green Street, Ipswich, MA 01938
