Gloria Jean Gay was born on May 30, 1932, to parents Leroy Gay Sr and Marie (Anderson) Gay, in Cleveland, Ohio.\u00a0 She was the middle child of eight children.<\/p>\n
She passed away quietly in her home surrounded by loved ones after a short illness on July 3, 2024.<\/p>\n
Gloria Grays (Mother Grays) accepted Christ in 1969.\u00a0 She was a member of Bethel Seventh-Day Adventist church for over 50 years.\u00a0 She was a Sabbath school teacher, Community Service leader, in charge of the flower committee, and Head Usher, a position she held for many years.\u00a0 She moved to Mississippi to live with her daughter in 2017 and attended the Gulf Coast Seventh-Day Adventist church where she was loved.<\/p>\n
She ran a child day care center out of her home for over 20 years.\u00a0 During that time, she took loving care of many, many children, most of whom still call her Mother Grays and loved her dearly.\u00a0 She was kind and loving to everyone she met.\u00a0 She always had an ear to listen, arms to console and a heart of gold.<\/p>\n
She was a dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.\u00a0 She loved her family very dearly and cherished each and every, one of them.\u00a0 We will always remember her smile, hugs, encouraging words and her daily prayers for us.<\/p>\n
She is preceded in death by her husband, Lacy Grays Sr.; her beloved son, Jon Leslie Grays; sisters, Frances Morales, Constance (Delores) Golson, Carole McCain Parker and Jackie Hinkmon; brothers, \u00a0Leroy Gay Jr. and Grant (Sonny) Gay; niece, Freda James and, her devoted son-in-law, Donald Harrison Jr.<\/p>\n
She leaves to cherish her memory; her children, Tawana Harrison, Lacy Grays Jr, (Karim), Constance Grays and Frances Grays; grandchildren, Maria Robertson (Fredrick), Lee Lacy Whittington, Markeith Grays, Daniele Grays-Harrison, Jeremy Villar, Lacy Grays III, Gloria Pearson (Robert), Ciara Grays, Mykia Grays, Myjona Grays; great grandchildren, Kennedy Steens, Devonte Harrison, Devion Harrison, Aiden Grays, Cailee Pearson, Macy Steens, Cassie Grays, Markeith (Duke) Grays Jr, Seth Grays, Taylor Grays, Lei\u2019Lani Grays, Robert (RJ) Pearson Jr, and Saylor Robertson; besties, Sherry Shepard, and Jeannette Johnson; godsons, Cameron Matthews, Kenion Gay and Gerald (baby G) Beard; nieces, nephews, sister-in-law, Rev Ethel Grays; besties, Sherry Shepherd , Jeanette Johnson and Betty Shuford; godsons, Cameron Matthews, Kenion Gay and Gerald (baby G) Beard, and all of her church family and, a host of friends.<\/p>\n
Friends may call, Friday, July 12, 2024, 11:00 a.m. to noon, at Bethel Seventh Day Adventist Church; 1398 Canton Rd; Akron, Oh 44312. Funeral services will immediately follow at 12:00 noon.<\/p>\n","Image":false,"separate_servicevisitation":false,"funeral_location":"","funeral_service_date":"","viewing_time":"","service_time":"","video_link":"","iframe":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.sommervillefuneralservice.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/obituaries\/4451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.sommervillefuneralservice.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/obituaries"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.sommervillefuneralservice.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/obituaries"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.sommervillefuneralservice.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.sommervillefuneralservice.com\/dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}