Francis J. Gray

COLUMBIA – Francis J. Gray, 89, of Columbia, passed away on Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021, at the Upper Connecticut Valley Hospital after a brief illness. He was born in Columbia on Feb. 6, 1932, a son to the late Everett M. and Mary Ellen (Daley) Gray. Francis was the kindest of men with always an encouraging word for anyone who needed it. He lived well and laughed often in his life. As a profession, he was an English Teacher and Guidance Counselor at the Dover Middle School in southern NH. He spent the school year in Farmington N.H. and his summers next to an old, covered bridge at the family home in Columbia N.H. In his heart, he was a farmer, and his garden was the proof. It was while teaching that he met a librarian who would become his lifelong partner and wife, Olive (Lawrence) Gray. He believed that a successful marriage was one where you give more of yourself than you take, and this was a recipe for their success. He and Olive both lived this message together and shared their love abundantly. Their home was a haven for many, and all were welcome along their travels. His kitchen and its rocking chairs were worn out from great use; no one spent more time visiting that kitchen than who he considered his best friend, Joe Daley. His home provided comfort to many, and his spectacular garden kept them well fed, too. If you were lucky enough to visit on a day when he had made his donuts, you were in for a treat. His mother assigned him as the caretaker of this family home with rights given to his siblings to share it. He took on this responsibility with great care and lived it well as they all came home again and again. He cherished Olive’s family and loved telling their stories of joy, success and beauty in their lives. He loved to travel when he could (especially to Costco in Canada), he loved ice cream, he loved good music, he loved his community and his cousins. He loved his parents, his brothers and sister fiercely, and held their families in his care when they could no longer be here. His niece Maureen Fusco was vigilant in her care for him over the last decade. Without her careful oversight he may have left us much sooner. Francis Gray and the love he spread freely will be irreplaceable. Francis will be missed dearly by his surviving brother Gerald Gray; his nieces, Eileen, Carol, Michelle, BenjiMarie, Maureen, Sharon, and Mary; and his nephews James, Kevin, and Joseph; along with multiple generations of great nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his wife, Olive (Lawrence) Gray in 2011; his sister, (Leora) Jane (Gray) Durocher; and his two brothers, Brandon and Austin Gray. Memorial calling hours will be at the Jenkins & Newman Funeral Home in Colebrook on Thursday, Sept. 2, from 6 to 8 p.m. A memorial Mass will be held the next morning, Friday, Sept. 3, at 11 a.m. at St. Brendan’s Catholic Church, with interment to immediately follow at St. Brendan’s Cemetery. Expressions of sympathy in memory of Mr. Gray may be made to the Great North Woods Center for the Arts, P.O. Box 302, Colebrook, NH 03576; or to an orphanage in Guatemala that was important to him, Guatemalan Brillo de Sol, 6605 Walnutwood Circle, Baltimore, MD 21212. Condolences may be offered on-line by going to www.jenkinsnewman.com. Arrangements are entrusted to the care of Jenkins & Newman Funeral Home, Colebrook, NH.

Francis J. Gray

February 6, 1932 - August 25, 2021