G. Troy Page, Jr.

Giles Troy Page Jr., beloved husband of Dr. Fran M. Page, passed away peacefully at their home at The Cypress of Raleigh. He was a man whose life spanned nine decades and overflowed with purpose, passion, and an unmistakable love for the people around him. He was, as his family would say, one of a kind — and they could prove it with stories.

Born on May 24, 1934, in Clayton, North Carolina — a year he jokingly claimed was still celebrated as the greatest in Clayton’s history — Troy grew up rooted in the rhythms of rural life: the red clay fields of family farms, the familiar commerce of his father’s Clayton Supply Store, and long afternoons spent with his extended family (especially his cousins and closest friends Rookie, Alite, and Leyburn). These experiences and people shaped him profoundly, and instilled in him a love for life and adventure.

Troy went on to earn degrees from the University of North Carolina and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and he answered an early calling to minister to congregations in Asheville and Rocky Mount. During his years as a young assistant pastor in Asheville in the early 1960s, he had the occasion to personally chauffeur a then-rising preacher named Billy Graham to various revivals — a detail Troy recounted with uncharacteristic understatement. In time, his gifts for building and enterprise found new expression as a businessman, developer, and builder in Johnston and Wake Counties, including his venture as the proprietor of Troy Page Ford — a dealership he ran with considerable style, though notably without ever driving a Ford himself, with one exception: the family’s Ford Country Squire, into which he miraculously fit his wife and five children, and then even more miraculously, drove to Walt Disney World at its opening, and back home to Clayton, with only a few bags of luggage (which were strapped to the top) lost on the way.

Adventure was not a hobby for Troy; it was a way of life. He began flying private airplanes as a teenager, navigating from Clayton to Chapel Hill for dates by looking out the window and following the highways below — no control towers, no instruments, just nerve and a good sense of direction. He went on to earn his instrument rating and flew for more than 75 years without an accident (his children were careful to note this statistic applied strictly to the air). On the water, he held a U.S. Coast Guard captain’s license and logged countless hours aboard a variety of sail and motorboats.

He and Fran spent countless joyful hours aboard The Two Pages, navigating the Intracoastal Waterway with friends and family in tow. Troy also drove a racecar and a school bus as a teenager, and was a motorcycle enthusiast who made runs down the Blue Ridge Parkway and rode to Daytona for Bike Week (once returning in near-hypothermic conditions after an unprecedented cold snap, insulated only by newspapers stuffed into his sleeves).

For seventeen years, Troy brought a different kind of light to Raleigh’s stage. As The Lamplighter in Theatre in the Park’s and Ira David Wood’s production of A Christmas Carol, he lit the way each holiday season with character and singing — recording the cast album, taking the show all the way to France, and performing the role with such devotion that more than one of his children memorized every single one of his lines. Troy’s love of performing ran deep: as a young father in

Clayton, he had entertained his Civitan Club with a family vaudeville act — producing cowboy songs, teddy bear serenades, and his own heartfelt solo (“Sunrise Sunset”) from Fiddler on the Roof. The audience loved every minute of it.

Music ran through Troy’s life like a river — wide, varied, and ever-present. His taste ranged from the old standards to the North Carolina Symphony to especially choral music, though his children noted with affection that he was unable to name a pop song recorded after Frank Sinatra’s heyday. He was also known, in family circles, for having mastered exactly one piece on the piano, which he played with great confidence and frequency. What he lacked in repertoire, he more than made up for in enthusiasm.

Above all, Troy was Fran’s most faithful audience. He attended nearly every concert she ever conducted, cheered her students at Meredith College as if they were his own (they called him “Mr. Dr. Page”), and bragged about her accomplishments with the same unabashed pride he applied to everything he loved.

When Fran was asked in an interview what she loved most about him, she said it was his love of adventure — and his gift for always being in the middle of planning something fun. This is a gift passed down to each of his five children.

Troy had hundreds of close friends, which his family considered one of his most precious gifts. He could light up a room with his laughter and his charisma. He loved animals, especially dogs, and at one point shared his home with a pet cockatoo. He was deeply proud of his own father’s service to Clayton and to the State Legislature, and carried that sense of civic pride throughout his life.

Troy was immeasurably proud of his five children: David (Nancy), Mark (Lisa), Cathy, Chris (Lauri), and Bob (Jen). He bragged about them openly and without apology — and his fifteen grandchildren gave him even more material to work with. His eleven great-grandchildren (with two more on the way this year) were among his greatest joys, and the annual Page Family Christmas — loud, crowded, joyful, and delightfully chaotic — was, for him, nothing short of sacred.

The family extends its deep and heartfelt gratitude to the medical team at The Cypress and to the wonderful people at Wisdom Senior Care of Raleigh for the compassionate, loving care they provided during Troy’s final chapter.

A celebration of Troy’s extraordinary life will be held in Jones Chapel on the campus of Meredith College at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 12, 2026. A reception will follow in the Johnson Hall Rotunda on Meredith’s campus. All who knew him or his family — and all whose lives he quietly shaped — are welcome.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Meredith College Department of Music, in memory of Troy Page, c/o Office of Institutional Advancement, 3800 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC 27607: https://donor.meredith.edu/g/general-donation-form

Brown-Wynne, 300 Saint Mary's St., Raleigh, is serving the Page family.