Norma Jeanne Gray

March 21, 1928 – July 22, 2018

A wife, mother, writer, musician, volunteer, devoted Catholic and world traveler, Norma Jeanne Gray died in her Berkeley home July 22 after developing pulmonary disease. She was 90, and had marked her birthday with a grand celebration just a few months before. Norma was born March 21, 1928, in Waterloo, Iowa, to Claude and Grace O’Connell, the eldest of four children (her brother, Noel, survives her). In 1936, her family migrated to Berkeley, Calif., where she attended public schools, graduating at age 16 from Berkeley High in 1944. In later years, she led a Berkeley High alumnae group, the Red and Golden Girls. She attended UC Berkeley for two years, focused on drama. She earned an AA degree and worked as a courier for Lawrence Lab. She was an active member of St. Joseph Church in Berkeley from 1936 to 2016, directing its choir for more than 50 years. She met her husband, John A. Gray (who pre-deceased her in 2006), in the choir in 1945; they were married in 1947 and had 10 children: Claudia, John, Margaret, Marianne, Jeanne, Michael, Lawrence, Paul (Dec. 2014), Karel and Catherine (Dec. 2004). She had 18 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and four step-great-grandchildren. Norma and John lived at 1337 Sacramento Street in Berkeley from 1954 until their deaths. Their home was always full of music, friends and acquaintances from near and far. While bringing up her children, Norma worked as a professional typist, then took on a role as a columnist and writer for the Catholic Voice newspaper for many years. She volunteered innumerable hours to church and school activities: parish council, pre-marriage instruction, parent organizations. She helped found a diocesan tuition-assistance program for Catholic school students and was Bay Area coordinator of handcraft sales for the international relief and development agency Concern America. She was a skilled baker and seamstress. She read voraciously, even after her eyesight began to fail. Her tastes ranged from politics and spirituality to mystery novels and crossword puzzles. She was an avid fan of many sports, particularly tennis. Norma’s greatest love was music. She had a splendid alto voice and played the violin and piano. During WWII, she and her sister Joann sang for the USO. She was in constant demand as a soloist at weddings and funerals. She and her husband loved to travel, taking annual vacations at Lake Tahoe, making crosscountry trips by car to visit friends and family, and venturing to Europe, Asia and Russia and the Middle East. One of Norma’s maxims was “It’s all about connections,” and she created and maintained lifelong relationships with people around the world. A memorial mass is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 5, at 1:30 p.m. at St. Augustine Church in Oakland. St. Joseph Funeral Center in San Pablo is handling arrangements; burial will be private. Memorial donations can be made in her name to the retirement fund for the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (www.sistersofthepresentation.org/ways-to-give) and The Belles of Saint Mary’s Endowed Scholarship Fund (http://www.saintmaryschs. org/giving-to-saint-marys/ ways-to-give-2).