Samuel Vinson Gray

SAMUEL VINSON GRAY Funeral services for lifelong area resident Samuel Vinson Gray will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, October 22 at Lifeway Baptist Church. Interment will follow at Sylvan Cemetery. Visitation has been set from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at the church Thursday morning. Samuel was born on June 7, 1935 in Ackman, Colo. the son of Elmer Samuel and Velma Faye (Vinson) Gray. He passed away on Sunday, October 18, 2009 at Valley Inn Nursing Home at the age of 74. Samuel graduated from Montezuma Cortez High School in 1953. He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1954 and served his country during the Korean Conflict. Samuel married Ina Fellows on March 26, 1956. They were married for 21 years and remained friends for life. Samuel and Ina had seven children. Samuel was a carpenter by trade and he enjoyed family gatherings, genealogy, reading, sports, cooking and being outside. Surviving Samuel are his children, Teresa Gray of Cortez, Thomas Gray and wife, Michelle of Greeley, Colo., Janet Rankin and husband, William of Cortez, Jackie Gray of Farmington, N.M., Sam Gray of Cortez, and Sheryl Warren and husband, Vincent of Cortez; and his grandchildren, Porschia Taylor, Isaiah and Marshall Gray, Kirsty and John Rankin, Shawna Butterfield and husband, Vance, Shuntara and Kiles Gray, Marcus Vickman, Christina, Matthew, Charles, and Ashley Warren. Samuel also leaves behind his great-grandson, Jeremy Gage Butterfield; his sister, Edith James and husband, Henry of Dove Creek, Colo.; his former wife and friend, Ina Gray of Cortez; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Samuel was preceded in death by his parents; by his daughter, Holly Gray; by his siblings, Rosa Easter, Forest Gray, Woodrow Gray, Ella Brogan, Frank Gray, Velma Hendersen, Harold Gray, Arthurene Ellisworth, and John Gray; and by his grandsons, Jeremy Gutierrez and Ronny Gray. Memorial contributions may be made to the Ute Mountain American Legion Post #75.