You have my deepest sympathy. May the God of loyal love comfort the family and friends during this time of sorrow  Psalms 119: 76

Molina was a very caring, kind and intelligent person.  Qualities that are  difficult to find today in any situation but especially professionally.  She was a wonderful CPA and dedicated Christian.....rest in peace in Christ's arms.....Mark and Libby Bonner

Moina has been a good friend and business associate for my family for many years.She was always a great help in all things business and financial.We will miss her.
 May God bless and keep you Moina.

My condolences to all.  Moina was my third cousin, as I am the granddaughter of her Aunt Josephine Valentino Vicari.  As children, we frequented family functions together with our parents and relatives.  She and I are the same age and both lived in Metairie for the same period of time.  We would see one another in the local stores and catch up on each other's news.  After Katrina it seemed like we lost contact and I often wondered what had happened to her. I noticed her plaque was no longer on the outside of her office in Metairie. I am truly sorry to learn of her passing.  She was a very intelligent and friendly person. She will be remembered in my prayers.

                                                   Fondly, Frances Lipani Hornung (Metairie)

Moina and I were classmates at Mount Carmel Acad. almost 60 years ago. She was the smartest girl in our class and a extremely nice person. I am so sorry she was called home before our 60th reunion in April.Three other of our classmates have also passed away since our 50th at the Hilton in 2006. My deepest condolences to her family and close friends.    Susie Levet Ulmer

Moina and I were classmates at Mount Carmel Acad. almost 60 years ago. She was the smartest girl in our class and an extremely nice person. I am so sorry she was called home before our 60th reunion in April.Three other of our classmates have also passed away since our 50th at the Hilton in 2006. My deepest condolences to her family and close friends.    Susie Levet Ulmer

Moira was an excellent accountant who managed my taxes - very knowledgeable. I will remember her in my prayers.

Moina assisted me along with my elderly parents for years until their passing in 2002. I enjoyed working with her every year; she was very profession and knowledgeable. Blessings of peace to comfort you and hold you in the palm of God's hands

I'll never forget how Moina would fuss at me like a school teacher because I was bad at paying my quarterly taxes.


Moina Agnelly Gray, Mo to everyone who knew her.  Her life spanned a period of time that saw great change and opportunity for women in America and as such her story is an American story.  Her name came from a novel in which the American Indian princess was named Moina.  She was actually the third Moina in our mother's family.  You would never find her in a picket line, but she did take advantage of everything that came her way.  
We were the atomic family, father, mother, sister, brother.  Her first memorial moment was her third birthday party, Sunday December 7, 1941.  People at the party already had sons in the service. Our parents were not blessed with formal education. Our mother, big Moina stopped schooling after the 8th grade.  Our father never finished the 8th grade, he had to go out and help support his family by being a carpenter's helper.  However he valued an education, and regretted not having the opportunity himself, his strongest desire was his children would receive as much education as possible.  
Because of the World War II there was nine and a half years between me and my big sister or little Moina.  When I was very young I was also very confused since my sister and mother were the same size I would often get them confused went I was a toddler.  In those days it was truly like having a second mother. 
By the time Moina finished high school as summa cum laude Rosie the riveter was back in the kitchen.  Opportunities were still limited for women, but my Dad felt Moina could be a medical technician or teacher. My Dad understood she had a sharp mind.  Those were the days before UNO and Loyola was the logical choice.  She spent one semester and decided she didn't like the social environment.  Despite our Dad's objections, I still remember that night, she dropped out and decided to go to Soule College for secretarial science.  The school helped her find her first job with Robert and Favalora Certified Public Accountants.  When she took that position I was still in grammar school and didn't have a clue what a CPA did. 
Then there was a marriage and seven years later a little boy, Richard. 
It wasn't that many years before she started doing light bookkeeping for the firm.  Mr. Robert, who was older than our Dad, took her under his wing and taught her the business the best he could.   He quickly recognized she had a sharp mind.   She often said Mr. Robert was her second dad. 
Thanks to her exposure to that firm I gradually started to learn what a CPA did, especially when she started to do my Dad's tax return like a dutiful daughter.  Those were always interesting nights since my Dad keep cancelled checks and invoices.  He would try and feed the checks and invoices to her at different times to get her to double tip. I believed she caught most of that foolishness.  At least it seemed that way from the conversation. During those days almost all CPA's were men, just as it seemed almost all doctors were men. 
As I was finishing up my Masters at UNO, I managed to pass the CPA exam.  I thought this was hard but not impossible.  In the process of qualifying to seat for the exam I realized you didn't have to have a degree at the time in Louisiana.  You just needed 24 accounting hours and 3 hours in business law.  So I proposed this to Mo one Sunday when I was at her house for dinner before I finished at UNO.  It didn't take as much selling as I thought it was going to.  Twenty-seven college hours was a doable thing, even with a full time job, wife and taking care of a little one. I think she was ready for the next step.  She started at UNO then finished at Tulane University College and passed the exam all in three years. 
It wasn't long before she was a junior partner at Robert and Favalore with her own client list.  Things seemed to be going good when there was a change of ownership at the firm and the new owner subsequently merged with one of the national firms. She came into the new firm as a supervisor versus a partner. A year went by when I received a phone call in Lafayette.  I asked her how things were going with the merger. She told me what was happening, I told her it sounds like they are trying to push you out, and she indicated she was thinking the same thing.  I asked her how much business she thought she can take with her, I was astonished at the size of the number.  I advised her if that is the case you need to be on your own. 
A couple of months later she opened her new office.  I couldn't attend the opening party.  We did send her a telegram to be timed with the timing of the opening party. It was a simple telegram. Dad would be proud.  Later she told me that telegram touched her deeply. Thus in a little over ten years she moved from being a junior bookkeeper to her own firm.   Later she weathered the premature death of her partner and the firm continued with her as the only owner. 
A couple of more years and she lost her life partner, but this didn't stop her and it didn't slow her down. 
There is still one more chapter.  We woke up one Saturday to hear that Katina was headed to New Orleans within seconds I received a cell call indicating she would be at my house the next morning.  She didn't ask if she could come, she said she was coming, that was the kind of relationship we always had. 
Like everyone else in the city and country we watched the devastation of New Orleans.  We waited about a little over a month to figure out the next step. Finally the city started to get drained.   She was sitting on my sofa when I told her she had to go back.  You have clients who will be depending on you for either quick refunds because of the disaster or SBA loan applications. She cried, but she knew she had to go back to help all those people that had depended on her for years, she knew she had to because she was a leader. 
She never asked for a lot, but she always took care of her own.

OBITUARY

Moina Agnelly Gray

December 6, 1938 – December 22, 2015

Stonebriar Funeral Home and Cremation Services

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