Stella Spray, 98, Aug. 19

Stella Spray died peacefully on August 19, 2020 in her home at The Montecito Santa Fe. It was her ninety-eighth birthday.

Stella was born in the Harlem District of Manhattan on August 19, 1922 and was raised in Forest Hills on Long Island. She kept her New York style until the end. Stella and her family moved to Los Angeles in 1943, and she enrolled at the University of Southern California. To make extra money, she took a job as a dance instructor at the Arthur Murray Studios in Hollywood, where one of her first clients was Lt. Louis Spray. They were married six weeks later on December 30, 1943.

During WWII, Stella worked in the defense industry at Hughes Aircraft Corporation in aircraft assembly. After the war she finished her degree and began a teaching career in the Los Angeles Unified School District. She worked as an elementary teacher and reading specialist until her retirement. Moving to Ventura County California, she remained active in the community by serving as the Chair of the Planning Commission and later as the Chair of the Grand Jury. She and Louis moved to Santa Fe in 1998.

She was preceded in death by her husband of sixty years, Louis Spray, parents Theodore and Sarina Alvy, brothers Steve Alvy and Dan Alvy, sister Sue Sandberg, and aunt Betty Benson.

She is survived by son Tom Spray, brother Kerby Alvy, cousin Sharon Benson, nieces Diane Alvy, Lisa Maire Belvy, and Britt Kerby Alvy, nephews Douglas Alvy, Paul Sandberg, Scott Sandberg, and Todd Sandberg.

She will be buried in the National Cemetery of Santa Fe next to the grave of Louis Spray on September 23, 2020 at 1:00 p.m.

Rivera Family Funerals and Cremations 417 East Rodeo Rd. Santa Fe, NM 87505 Phone: (505) 989-7032 riverafamilyfuneralhome.com