John A. Gray Sr., 81

THORNTON — John Anthony Gray Sr., 81, of Thornton, died October 6, 2022, at the Granite State VNA Hospice House in Concord.

John was born on Christmas Day in 1940. He was the son of Madeline (Marisseau) Gray and his adopted father, Paul J. Gray.

John attended St. James Grammar School and one year of St. James High School, before transferring to Haverhill Trade School, where he studied Basic Electronics. He graduated in with the class of 1959. John joined the U.S. Army in July of 1959 and served in Germany until 1962. From 1965 through 1978, John attended night school at the University of Massachusetts., Lowell. In 1972, he received an associate degree in Engineering and in 1978 a bachelor’s degree in business management. In 2003, John and Valerie moved to Thornton, in the White Mountains.

On October 26, 1963, John and Valerie E. Reed were married at St. Francis Church in Dracut, Massachusetts. They had two children, John Jr. and Ellen Marie, and lived in Methuen, Massachusetts.

John worked at various positions at Sanders, Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems, in the contracts management field, for many years, until his retirement in 2001.

John remained active through the years. He was a volunteer with Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth, and the U.S. Forest Service in Lincoln, from 2003 to 2013. John was actively involved with the NH CASA/GAL Program and a court appointed special advocate for many years.

John was an active member of the Knights of Columbus. He was a third-degree member of the Knights of Columbus Holy Family Council 10307, in Plymouth, and a fourth-degree Knight of the Father Verrette Assembly 2478. He was also an active member of Holy Trinity Parish in Plymouth.

John is survived by his wife of 58 years, Valerie E. (Reed) Gray of Thornton; his children, John A. Gray Jr., his partner Peter of Thompson, Connecticut, Ellen M. Walton and her husband Don, of Mountain City, Tennessee; granddaughter, Tara Ashley Brownson of Wakefield, Massachusetts; his brother, James P. Gray and his wife Mary of Haverhill, Massachusetts; as well as nieces, nephews and several cousins.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, October 12, 10 a.m., at Holy Trinity Parish, Saint Matthews Church, School Street, Plymouth. The Rev. Mark Dollard, pastor, will be the celebrant. Burial will be held in the NH Veterans Cemetery, Boscawen, NH.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Granite State VNA, Hospice House, 240 Pleasant St., Concord, NH. 03301

The Mayhew Funeral Home and Crematorium, in Plymouth and Meredith, are honored to assist the Gray family with their arrangements. For more, go to: www.mayhewfuneralhomes.com.