Margaret "Margie" Ruth Gray spent her final days in her adopted Santa Barbara County town of Lompoc, where she lived for the last 51 years. She died at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital on June 22, 2020. She was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, in January 1934 and for most of her life, celebrated her birthday on the 19 ^th of that month. However, it was a surprise several years ago when she discovered that her birth certificate stated her date of birth as January 16 ^th 1932. Margie was always full of surprises.

In 1956 Margie married Thomas "Tom" Gray in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Although they lived a block away from each other as children, Tom and Margie did not meet until they were adults. Early in their marriage, Margie worked as a hospital receptionist with the dream of becoming a nurse. However, Tom was in the Air Force so Margie became a military wife and decided to stay home with her three children. She traveled with her husband when he was stationed at numerous bases overseas, like Wheelus AFB, Libya and Naha AFB, Okinawa. It was during her stay at Naha that Margie learned how to bowl and became an avid bowler, participating on many teams throughout her employment with The Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) as a Rec & Inventory Clerk and into retirement. In addition to bowling, Margie loved all sports…except baseball. She watched most college and pro basketball and football games, especially the Lakers (and later the Clippers). If she received a call during a game, the caller could immediately discern that she was not focused on the them. Many times while visiting her children in Los Angeles, she attended Lakers, Clippers and recently, Chargers games.

Her children, Marc, Vanessa and Tracy, remember their mother teaching them how to ride a bike and how to swim. At the time, Margie had never ridden a bike nor did she know how to swim, but she made certain her children learned those skills. Additionally, her children and friends will always remember Margie's sense of humor and her ability to make people laugh. They also remember her soul food dinners.

Margie was known as an excellent cook and impressed everyone with her meals of collard greens, fried chicken, cornbread, candied yams and a multitude of desserts, amongst her numerous recipes. Many neighbors stopped by New Years Day just to sample her delicious dishes. She enjoyed trying new recipes and sharing her skills with her children and friends.

Margie loved flowers and birds and had many hobbies, spending many hours playing bingo at the senior center, slot machines at the Chumash Casino and volunteering at Queen of Angeles Catholic Church, which she attended for the last 50 years. Her friends recount that she was a sister to everyone, especially the Sisters of Eastern Star, Chapter #91 OES, of which she was a member for over 50 years. They remember that she was always there for anyone and everyone who needed a shoulder to cry on or needed a word of support and kindness. Always making people laugh, Margie would participate in the Masonic Lodge and Eastern Star's yearly talent show, playing "air" clarinet. Each year, she surprised people with her love of Halloween costumes, once shocking her bingo buddies by dressing as a pregnant senior citizen. Throughout her life she loved trendy clothing, dancing and music – Margie even saw Marvin Gaye's last concert.

Even during the illness that would eventually claim her life, she was cheerful and remained humorous toward hospital staff. Her loving smile, her humor, her mere presence that lent stability to many will be missed by her family and friends. She has joined her husband, who preceded her in death and her ashes were interned next to Tom's grave on August 24th at Lompoc Cemetery. She requested no service or obituary—the only wish her children refused. The family asks that in lieu of flowers a donation be made to the United Negro College Fund in her name.