Florence Mae Gray

Newport, RI - Florence Mae Gray, 84, of 69 Hillside Avenue, Newport, RI, died Monday, October 29, 2007 at Newport Hospital, Newport, RI. Born in Newport, RI on April 21, 1923, she was the daughter of the late Howard William and Ida Sutton Jackson.Florence was a 1974 graduate of Roger Williams College, receiving her degree in Social Sciences. Florence Gray was a tireless advocate for her city and her fellow citizens. Over the years she served on many committees and boards. She was a Board Member of the Martin Luther King Center, Child and Family Services, the Newport Public Library, Visiting Nurse of Newport County, Rhode Island Head Start, New Visions and the Bank of Newport. She was also a member of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce Task Force, the Governors Day Car Commission, the Governors Children?s Health Committee, the Minority Caucus, the Newport Hospital Ethics Committee, the Rhode Island State Ethics Committee, as well as the URI Co-op Extension Scholarship Committee, the Bridge to Success, the 4H program and Phil-AM. As a tribute to her work over the years, the Newport community named a public center in her honor, The Florence Gray Center. She is survived by two sons and a daughter-in-law, Paul A. Gray of Beltsville, MD, and Stephen M. Gray and Elizabeth Martyn of Powder Springs, GA, a brother Alfred Jackson of Newport, RI, and four sisters Lillian Stewart, Yvonne Lopes, Marlene Ray all of Newport, RI, and Carol Greer of Stockton, CA.She was preceded in death by a daughter Florence Martha Gray and a brother Howard Mickey Jackson. Her funeral will be held on Saturday, November 3, 2007, at 9:00am, from the Memorial Funeral Home, 375 Broadway, Newport, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00am, in St. Josephs Church, Broadway and Mann Avenue, Newport. Burial will be in St. Columbas Cemetery in Middletown.Calling hours will be held on Friday, November 2, 2007, from 2-4 and 7-9, in the funeral home.Donations in her memory may be made to the Food Bank at the Florence Gray Center, One York Street, Newport, RI 02842.