Jeanne Kay Gray

Jeanne Kay Gray

(My beloved Wife and Best Friend)

My beloved wife, Jeanne Gray, passed into the arms of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on August 21, 2025, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, WA. I had the joy, honor, and privilege of being married to her for 36 years and 8 months, to the very day. Our wedding anniversary is December 21, 1988. I always told her she was my greatest Christmas gift from the Lord.

For the last 10 years, it has been my honor and calling to be her caregiver. Throughout her short life, my beloved wife endured with long-suffering ill health. Since the age of 10, she suffered from arthritis. She never complained, and her condition rarely got her down. If it did, it was only for a very short time, as she had a way of dismissing whatever pain or discomfort she was in. However, this was not in a cavalier or self-pitying way, but with the knowledge that God was in control, and ultimately, she would be with Him. She knew that in the twinkling of an eye, she would have a brand-new, glorified body. She looked forward to that day, and we spoke about it often. Jeanne was an eternal optimist, sometimes even to a fault. She always looked on the bright side of every issue—whether regarding her personal health, family challenges, or politics.

Jeanne was a loving, self-sacrificing and devoted wife to her husband, Rick (who I am proud to say she called her Superman, hero, and best friend), a loving daughter to Jacob and Margaret, and a loving, devoted mother who gave sacrificially to her three sons, Robert (who passed away on June 17, 2022), Joshua, and Andrew. She longed for and loved her grandchildren, Jack and Zoe. The few times she was able to see them, her whole world lit up, and she beamed for days afterward. She was also a loving and protective big sister to Karen, Kenny, and especially her baby sister Peggy, who was severely mentally handicapped. Jeanne was a friend to all who came into her life, and everyone who knew her loved her.

Jeanne was a waitress by trade, and she loved it—her customers loved her, too. She served at the Village Inn Pancake House in Federal Way, Washington, for nearly 17 years until being struck by a car in a Safeway parking lot in 2011. That accident broke her pelvic bone and caused a host of other health complications on top of the ones she already endured. Still, she took it all in stride, as if it had never happened, and decided it was time to retire. By then she had undergone two hip replacements, at least two back surgeries, a shoulder replacement, and was recovering from heart failure and a stroke that nearly took her life in September 2009. That stroke left her partially blind in her left eye.

Amazingly, even with all her health issues, Jeanne continued to waitress and manage, host fly-ins at the local airport, volunteer at our church, attend women’s Bible conferences, and host elaborate Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving gatherings for the whole family. And boy, could she cook! She was the best cook I have ever known. Cooking was her great love; when she wasn’t working, caring for others, or spending time with me, she read cookbooks and tried out new recipes, always tweaking them to make them her own.

Jeanne’s other passions were arts, crafts, and embroidering. She gave her creations to family and friends for Christmas and birthdays. As her arthritis became more aggressive and destructive to her joints, her hands no longer allowed her to sew or create new things.

Jeanne always called me her hero, but she was my heroine, and I told her so often. I was so proud of her and how she handled difficult situations with grace and kindness. Even after being completely disabled and wheelchair-bound, she did not complain or feel sorry for herself. Wherever I went over 36 years of marriage, I bragged about my wife, because she was always deserving of praise.

When I told her, “You are the bravest girl I know,” she would answer, “I don’t feel brave.”
When I told her, “You are so strong,” she would say, “I don’t feel strong.”
When I told her how beautiful she was, she would reply, “To you I am,” or “I’m glad you think so.”

She was always self-effacing and humble, never believing she was someone special. But to her friends, co-workers, bosses, in-laws, customers, neighbors, and especially to her parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren & husband she was very, very special. She was the best. She was my best friend, and I was hers. She always said, “We are a team.” And indeed, we were. We did everything together. We laughed together, watched TV, went to the movies, went flying, joked, worked our business and other odd jobs together, teased each other, played chess (I almost always blundered my queen to her and she gladly took it!) —and most importantly, we prayed and read the Bible together regularly.

Her faith in her Lord Jesus was deep and solid. Jeanne always wanted to go to church and be with her brothers and sisters in Christ, but her health conditions caused her so much pain and discomfort that we often could not attend. However, on Saturdays and Sundays, as I was getting her up for the day, she would say excitedly “Don’t forget we have sermons today!” Meaning she wanted me to turn on the TV and find her favorite Bible teacher’s latest message on YouTube. She especially loved sermons on Bible prophecy, the Lord’s second coming, and the rapture of the Church.

When we lived in eastern Washington for five years, we attended two Bible prophecy conferences in 2017 and 2018—one in Spokane and one in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. She had so much fun and was on top of the world! Jeanne was an instant hit with the speakers, who loved her, prayed with her, and even took pictures with her. She was especially excited to meet her favorite Bible teacher, Dr. David Reagan, who, both times when he saw her, rushed up and proclaimed, “There’s my favorite girl!”

I could write a book on my beloved wife and our incredible life together—our relationship with Jesus, our love for God’s Word, and the way we navigated difficult people and life in general. Jeanne would want me to remind you that she was far from perfect and made many mistakes, but she was a sinner saved by grace. She would also want you to know that Jesus offers this same gift of salvation to all who will recognize their need to be saved and by faith call and trust on Him to wash their sins away through His blood sacrifice that was completed for them on the cross.

To my beloved Jeanne, and to all who read this tribute: this is not goodbye, it is see you later. I so love and miss you, my darling, and I can hardly wait for the day when we will be together again.