Stephen Davis Gray

Stephen D. Gray, 85, of Powderly, went to be with his Lord and Savior on June 8, 2023. Services are scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Monday, June 12, 2023, at Bright-Holland Funeral Home with Dr. Jeff Laughlin & Rev. Steve Gunter officiating. Burial will follow in Evergreen Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the funeral home Sunday from 2-4 p.m. Mr. Gray, the son of Jack Edison Gray & Ethelene Stephens Gray, was born Jan. 19, 1938, in Malvern, AR. He served in the United States Air Force National Guard. Steve graduated from Michigan State University with a Master’s Degree in chemistry and physics. He began a career with the Campbell Soup Company and was transferred to Paris from Ohio in 1967, where he remained until retirement. He was a member of Immanuel Baptist Church where he served as a deacon and Sunday School teacher. Steve enjoyed woodworking, restoring old cars and was a member of the Red River Valley Honkers. On May 27, 1959, he married Kay Anita Dunlap Gray, building 57 years of family and memories before her death on July 28, 2016. His parents and a sister-in-law, Patricia Brandon, also preceded him in death. Survivors include his wife, Marsha Russell Gray, children, Kirk Gray, Karen Gray, and Lisa Creekmore & husband Johnny, grandchildren, Halie Smart & husband William, Jesse Melot, Sabrina Anders & husband Joseph, Lacey Doss, and Summer Rose, a great grandchild, Rylee Anders, step-children, Mickey Russell & wife Marla, Michael Russell & wife Liz, and Mark Russell, step-grandchildren, Tyler Russell, Meagan Russell, Elizabeth Russell, Myles Russell, and Meredith Stefferson, step-great-grandchildren, Mack Russell, Maverick Russell, Everett Stefferson, and Walker Stefferson, one sister, Diana Goldberg, and two nephews Jeremy Goldberg and David Brandon along with a host of friends.