The daughter of two immigrants to Panama from the island of Jamaica, Julien (Oliver) Gray was born on April 8, 1926 in the Rio Abajo neighborhood of Panama City, Panama. A neighborhood known for its predominantly West Indian residents. Her father worked as a carpenter/farmer and her mother took care of the home that included her and five siblings (Madelaine, Wilbert, Vernes, Lucille and Lillian). They were poor but proud, and they each possessed an ambition for more in life than they were given.
Julien was a very good student in primary school. Albert and Mable (Henry) Oliver, her parents, were very proud of her. She excelled in mathematics. Her ambition for a better life drove her to enroll in the Academia Mercantil, a trade school for high school-aged children. She majored in secretarial skills and accounting. After graduation in 1942, she immediately started her secretarial career.
Julien always took great pride in her work. She instilled this value in her children, often saying that all work was honorable and had value.
She gave birth to her first two children, Mauricio Armando, and Ricardo Alberto Rodriguez with Jose Amado Rodriguez of El Salvador before the marriage ended. She later met and married a Texan in the U.S. Army named John Scott Gray, Jr. John and Julien had a long and happy relationship that lasted until his death in 2022.
Julien moved to John’s hometown of Houston, Texas after the birth of her third child, and only daughter, Kay Doris. The family of five (John, Julien, Mauricio, Ricardo and Kay) lived in Houston and were later joined by John Scott (the third), Stephan Omar and Keith Lane. The family traveled with John Jr. to his military assignments in Oklahoma, Washington, Japan, New Mexico and the Panama Canal Zone. They settled in the Houston area, where John retired from the Army and continued his career in law enforcement.
Julien returned to the workforce in the later part of John’s military service. She was at times an administrative assistant and a teaching assistant in addition to raising five sons and a daughter. In addition to her family and work responsibilities, Julien was an active member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. She held a variety of responsibilities in the many churches she attended over the years in the various places the family lived. From being responsible for the Dorcas Society to superintendent of the sabbath school to church treasurer to vacation bible school superintendent, she always volunteered or was asked to serve the church and she always made her assignment a priority.
She was a member of the Fondren Seventh day Adventist Church in Missouri City, Texas, where she attended the weekly services almost to her final days. While always a devoted biblical scholar she also would surprise you with her ability to make you laugh. Just a few weeks ago she was asked by her son, Ricardo: ‘which of your children is your favorite’. She replied without a beat “don’t worry they know”.
Julien Gray passed away at 9:18 AM on Thursday, December 11, 2025.
A visitation will be held at World Harvest Outreach Seventh-day Adventist Church, located at 10800 Scott St, Houston, TX 77047, on December 21, 2025, from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm. A Celebration of Life will follow at the same venue from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
The committal service is scheduled for December 24, 2025, at Houston National Cemetery, 10410 Veterans Memorial Dr, Houston, TX 77038. Family and friends are requested to meet at the cemetery and line up on Lane 1 by 9:45 am. The service will take place from 10:00 am to 10:30 am.
Active pallbearers will include Jarvis Clinton, Sherman Clinton, John Mercurio, Aaron Rodriguez, Xavier Rodriguez, and Terry Gray. Honorary pallbearers are Arturo Alleyne, Cora McCloud, Marcellus Cephas, Jessie Clinton, Rupert Etienne, Wendell Fitzgerald, Conklin Gentry, Jorge Kuzmicic, Robert Purcell, Asnake Shimels, and Lee Rollins.
