Maurice Jennings Gifford

June 3, 1924 – October 21, 2024

Maurice (Maury) was the third generation born in the family farm house in Genesee County, Michigan. He grew up in the area, graduating from Davison High School in 1941. He attended Michigan State College (later renamed Michigan State University), where he met his first wife, Eleanor Bacon and mother of his children. His studies were interrupted by US Army service in France, Belgium, and Germany during World War II.

Upon returning from Europe, he completed his chemical engineering degree from Michigan State in 1947, followed by two years in Terre Haute, Indiana, working at Commercial Solvents Corporation before relocating to Ann Arbor, Michigan where he earned his master’s degree at the University of Michigan. The family then moved to the Midland, Michigan area where he worked several years for Dow Chemical Company. In 1958, they moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where he worked for Oscar Mayer and Company in their Plastic Packaging Research Department.

In 1985 Maury retired from Oscar Mayer and he and his wife Karen moved to Raleigh, North Carolina (where he could golf year-round). In addition to golf (as a member of North Ridge Country Club), he was an active member (and often office-holder) in Sir Walter Lions Club, Sister Cities International, International Visitors Council, Friends of Scandinavia, and Friendship Force of Raleigh. Maury and Karen enjoyed attending local theater and concerts, following their Wolfpack and Big Ten college sports (as Karen is a U of Wisconsin graduate, they often found themselves rooting against each other), spending time with family, and traveling within the States and numerous countries on five continents.

Maury was preceded in death by parents, Neil and Hazel Gifford, sister Gerry and Clyde Anderson, daughter Mary and Bill Meisch, and sister-in-law Mary Ann and Duff Peters. He is survived by his wife Karen of 56 years, daughter Sarah and Tim Spillane, son Chuck Gifford, son John and Kathy Gifford, sister-in-law Janet Robertson, sister-in-law Jean and Roger Cohee, grandchildren Sarah Meisch and Brian DeSoto, Andy and Alison Gifford, Jeff Gifford and Hannah Miller, Pat Gifford and Katie Licau-Gifford, and Becky and Sam Petersen, numerous great-grandchildren, step-great grandchildren, and Anderson and Robertson nieces and nephews.

There will be a Celebration of Maury’s life in Madison, Wisconsin during the summer of 2025, and internment in the Well of the Columbarium at the St. Philip Lutheran Church, Raleigh, North Carolina, at a later date.