Obituary of Marion Gray

Marion Gray Age 97. Loving Mother, Grandma, Great Grandma, Great-Great Grandma, Sibling, Cousin and Friend.

Preceded in death by husband Leon Gray; parents Clifford and Ruth Brokaw; Brother William (Bill) Brokaw; sons-in-laws James Celiberti, Mike Maki.

Survived by Daughters Lori Maki, Beth Kegler-Gray (Michael), Ann Celiberti; sons Clifford (Marian), Daniel (Patricia), Lee (Joyce), Frank (Cyndy), Michael (Kim); sisters Ruth Koenig, Helen Degree (Otis), Susan Brokaw; and over 50 grandchildren.

She was loved by many and will be deeply missed. For Family and Friends her Celebration service is at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 8th, 2020 at Church of the Assumption, 51 7th Street West, St. Paul, MN 55102.

Buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery

Due to Corvid 19, flowers cannot be accepted, and the family wishes any memorial donations be directed to Assumption Church - “Out Reach program". To family and friends, mask and social distancing will be practiced.

 Tribute to Mom

Young Marion’s life:

She helped raise her 3 sisters and her brother while her parents worked. She protected her younger brother with asthma from being picked on. She did not like bullying.  Her youngest Sister Susie said, “It can safely be said that Marion was without question the favorite sister to us all. Like me they all thought of her as ‘my mother’. When I was young, I remember her sewing for me and fixing my hair She took us all under her motherly wing. As I grew up, she was always proud of me and free with her loving advice. Marion was always there for me when I needed moral support. I remember when I was single, traveling on business feeling all alone. I called her from the airport between flights just to hear her voice and she made me feel I had worth. I always knew that she was there for me. And she was fun to be with. I do miss our best friend.”

High School Life:

Mom loved Monroe High School. Her Art Teacher was a major influences in her becoming a working artist. Although she did not start at her favorite school. She originally was going to Central until she had a discussion with the Assistant Principle. He said, “Marion Gray if you take your friends to the caves again you will be expelled from Central.” That afternoon she made a decision that influenced the rest of her life ... she took her friends back the cave.

Mom and Dad:

Marion and Leon were HS sweethearts and got married at seventeen. In asking for Mom’s hand in marriage, Dad asked Mr. Brokaw "Marion and I have been thinking about getting married . . .". Marion's dad interrupted him at that point and said, "First of all, you are not thinking!" Grandpa was right they were not thinking about it, they did it. They got married and had 8 kids. And now the extended family is over 60 members and growing.

Becoming a Professional Artist:

Mom loved doing art and she did lots of it. Painting, pottery, sculpture, wherever she lived. Mom has left her creative mark on many interior and exterior murals on the West Side of St. Paul, Beaver Bay and the Art Coop building in Princeton, MN. She influenced her kids and friends with her creativity. Many are still producing art today.

 Animal and bears, oh my!

Around 80 years old she started “Up North Art Studio” in Beaver Bay. Her favorite subjects in her artwork (drawing, paintings, sculptures, lamps etc.), were images of a family of bears. Her first meeting of the cubs was in her garage where they found the bird seed. The mother bear and cubs became very comfortable with mom’s interest in drawing them. She often saw marks of cub snouts and paw prints on her windowpanes. She loved their freeness and that of many of our pets like Daisy our sheep that freely moved about mowing our lawn; a crow named JoJo that learn to knock on our door when he wanted something; and horse that we would back out of the farm house entrance-way when he followed us in or needing to move his snout when we were working on car engines.

 Creative Matriarch:

To honor her in her later years (85 to 89 years young), the Gray family with 16 family artist/participant had huge art fairs doubling as family reunions in Mahtomedi and St. Louis Park. Newspaper articles referred to her as the “Creative Matriarch” that inspired 4 generations of artists. She would say in preparing for those art show “I wake up with so many ideas that I can’t wait to get them started”. All were welcomed to our fair and to participate in artistic activities. 

More than just the visual arts:

Not only did she love producing art, she loved music and dancing. There was always the sound of music in our home in practicing, playing, or listening to Music. She influenced many jam sessions, from a hayloft on our farm in North Dakota through her last home in Beaver Bay, Mn. The musicians and bands

never played without inviting Mom. And we grew up dancing with mom. She would make you dance with her anytime she heard music. And when her legs grew too old, she danced with her arms and hands in the wheelchair. She danced up to the week she passed. We miss dancing with her.

 Love for all people:

She not only shared her love for the Arts with us, she shared her love for humanity. As an artist she loved capturing the essence of people. As a person she loved all and embraced their differences in spirit, idealism, culture, and/or race. We learned that early. We lived in Fargo North Dakota in the school 1963-64. During that time, the priest from Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Fargo called my mother to ask a favor. He had a gentleman who just moved to town to find a job and needed childcare for his two preschool children Timmy and Lisa. That was the school year that President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas; Civil rights protests throughout the South and Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. Lisa, Timmy, and their dad were from New York City and were black. Father knew of no blacks in Fargo but knew of mom’s openness and willingness to welcome everyone into her home. She said, yes! She always reflected on the time when they were coming home on the school bus and saw her walking. They waved and yelled out the school bus window “Mom”. That made her day! Now she’s called grandma from several different nationalities. We learned much from her. We all loved grandma.

 Everyone was always welcomed to our house:

Mom always welcomed our friends to our house, whether we were there or not. And they came whether we were there or not. Sometimes to holler that they are just changing to go to the beach or just to sit and talk with her. They all loved mom.

 Mom's Faith:

Mom's faith was a big part of her life. She was raised in the Catholic Church and made sure that her children had this faith foundation as well. Her prayer book was by her bedside and read from nightly as long as she was still able to read. When exposed to other religious traditions, Marion affirmed her belief in the Good News that Jesus had given His life for the forgiveness of her sins. Psalm 23 was her favorite Psalm and loved to have it read to her. The final years of life when Alzheimer's had taken much of her clarity of thought and sometimes her peace away... singing "Jesus Loves Me" to her would not only calm her but she would sing along. What a sweet comfort we have in knowing that Jesus offers His loving salvation to all who would receive it.

Loving Mother, Grandma, Great Grandma, Great-Great Grandma, Sibling, Cousin and Friend. Thank you for all your creativity, compassion, sense of humor and life lessons. We all love you!