Phyllis Gray

A retelling of someone's life story often tends to focus on a crowning achievement – the moment that made a life stand out from the rest, even if only for a moment, and be a beautiful story that others might remember.
Phyllis Greer Gray lacked that singular moment.
Rather, her 86 years spent on Earth was more a never-ending thread of moments of love and compassion that made a true difference for the thousands that were fortunate enough to have encountered her.
Whether in her native West Virginia (where Phyllis taught neighborhood children to read in her home, advocated for the state as a guide at the Gauley Bridge Visitors Center, was a Head Start teacher, delivered Thanksgiving meals to families in need, and worked alongside Governor Jay Rockefeller to help create the Midland Trail) or in Akron, Ohio, where she spent her later years working with Altrusa (altering donated prom dresses for girls who could not afford to buy their own, among other ventures), Phyllis Gray lived a lifetime entrenched in making everything she laid her hands on better than the way she found it.
Phyllis passed away on January 26, 2024, in Akron.
She leaves behind her husband Karl, whom she recently celebrated 60 years of marriage with, and multiple nieces and nephews.
Family, friend or stranger, Phyllis approached all with an unmatched kindness and love.
Phyllis' life began on July 4, 1937 at Glen Ferris, West Virginia, at the wide, calm waters of the Kanawha River - just a short paddle from where the mighty New River converges with the Gauley and flows north to the Ohio - and just above the scenic waterfalls that still make it a magical place to visit today.
The daughter of Jack and Georgianna Greer, Phyllis' young life was influenced heavily by the river she loved. An adventurous childhood was spent fishing and swimming in its waters alongside her two brothers, Ronnie and Ed.
In these years she was influenced greatly by the presence of a neighbor known as "Uncle John" whose family helped her learn to read and instilled in her a passion to always advocate for those in need.
After high school, Phyllis moved to Akron to be near family and pursued a career as a hairstylist that eventually led her to meet Vidal Sassoon in person.
During this time she met Karl – an experience she recalled as being "electrifying." Though he was already married at the time, she knew immediately that she would eventually be with him for the rest of her life. The pair were married a short time later, took an extended honeymoon to Florida, and never left each other's side for the next six decades. Together, they returned to Fayette County, WV, and made a home in the small town of Jodie, nestled in the mountains alongside the banks of the Gauley River.
In 1975 they were blessed with the arrival of a son, Philip Andrew Gray (who tragically preceded Phyllis in death in January 2020).
She was proud of Philip from his first moment on the planet, always noting to others that he had "perfect syntax" and was an "award-winning sports journalist" having worked for many years in the sports department of the Chillicothe Gazette.
In 2003, Phyllis and Karl left their beloved Jodie and returned to Akron to be closer to family.
Nearly two decades later, Phyllis had a final chance to visit the river of her youth and later wrote to her nieces a letter of thanks that said, "In the still of the night I can almost hear the water as it breaks over the dam ... I had no idea how much I needed this trip home."
One morning, in the months before her passing, Phyllis was awoken from her night of sleep by a loving embrace. When she opened her eyes, it was Philip who held her. His comforting visits became more frequent over the next several weeks. The family now believes that he was her guide as she began her journey home.
Family remember Phyllis as being a fast driver, a voracious reader who read the daily newspaper cover to cover and excelled at the crossword puzzles, a lover of fishing, and a lifelong fan of Zane Grey and British TV.
She made it her business to know all of her family members, possibly better than they knew themselves. And she often went out of her way to make her family members feel loved with gestures as simple as a small gift and as personal as refurbishing a silver flatware set into a priceless family heirloom.
Phyllis' remains will be returned to the banks of the Kanawha River that she loved so dearly.
"They lied to you," she told her nieces after their last trip to Glen Ferris. "You can go home again. I did."