Sarah Ellen Staples Gray, age 80, passed away peacefully on October 7, 2024, after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. She was born on March 7, 1944, in San Angelo, Texas to Ashley & Alverta Staples. Shortly after her birth she moved to Christiansburg, Virginia where she lived until 1965.

Sarah graduated from Christiansburg High School in 1962, where she met her high school sweetheart, Douglas Gray, at the age of fifteen. She graduated from Radford College in 1965, where she earned a bachelor's degree in education. Douglas was a year older than Sarah and was attending Virginia Polytechnic Institute when he proposed to her.  Sarah finished college in three years so they could get married sooner.

Sarah & Douglas married in Christiansburg on July 31, 1965. She taught for a year in Blacksburg, Virginia while he finished college. They moved to Hampton, Virginia in 1966 where they both became teachers for Hampton City Schools. Sarah taught second grade at Barron Elementary School until her daughter, Angela, was born in 1971. After staying home with her for four years, she returned to teaching second grade at Cary Elementary School. After a few years she returned to Barron Fundamental School to teach second grade, but eventually switched to first grade. She retired in 1999 after 30 years of teaching.

Sarah was an amazing teacher who poured her heart & soul into her students and her job. She loved keeping up with her former students, and eventually had the pleasure of teaching their kids too. She enjoyed her co-workers and mentoring new teachers and kept in close contact with them after retiring. She even volunteered in the classroom after retiring. You can take the teacher out of the classroom, but they never stop teaching.

Sarah was a member of Bethany Methodist Church where she taught Sunday School and served as superintendent of Sunday School for many years. She was also a member of the Exchange Club of Wythe along with Douglas.

Sarah loved the mountains & nature, gardening and harvesting caterpillars to release once they became monarch butterflies. She & Douglas enjoyed traveling with family & friends during their retirement years, and you could always find them walking the Matteson Trail in Hampton. Her greatest love was her family, especially her grandchildren, Katie & Ryan.

Sarah is survived by her husband of 59 years Douglas Gray of Hampton; her daughter and son-in-law Angela Gray Gilley and John Gilley of Yorktown; her grandchildren Katie Gilley and Ryan Gilley of Yorktown; her brother-in-law and sister-in-law David Gray and Darla Gray of North Ridgeville, Ohio; her special cousin Lois Bailey of Roanoke, Virginia; and four nieces and nephews.

The family would like to extend special thanks to the staff of Comfort Cove at Mennowood Assisted Living and Virginia Health Services Hospice for the love and care Sarah received the last four years of her life.

Visitation will be on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, from 6 -7 PM at W. J. Smith Funeral Home, 210 Harpersville Road, Newport News, Virginia 23601. A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, at 11AM at Bethany Methodist Church, 1509 Todds Lane, Hampton, Virginia 23666, with a reception immediately following the service.

In lieu of flowers, please honor Sarah's memory with donations to Bethany Methodist Church, 1509 Todds Lane, Hampton, Virginia 23666.