Gertrude Thorpe Gay

GAY, Gertrude Thorpe, 90, of Waverly passed away Friday, February 6, 2009 at the Dinwiddie Health and Rehabilitation Center. Born on March 12, 1918 in Sussex County, Gertrude was the daughter of the late John and Minnie Robinson Thorpe and the widow of H. Oliver Gay. Gertrude was a member of the Waverly Congregational Christian Church where she was active in the choir and taught Sunday School for many years. She retired from the Civilian Personnel Office at Fort Lee after 25 years of service in 1991. A life long resident of the Waverly community, Gertrude resided at the Dunlop House in Colonial Heights prior to moving to the Dinwiddie Health and Rehabilitation Center. Mrs. Gay was the mother of the late Adele Gay Grammer, wife of the late Robert "Buddy" Grammer and is survived by her daughter Joy Gay Bowman and husband, Robert L. Bowman IV of Petersburg. She is survived by two grandchildren, Rita Grammer Baldwin and Robert "Rudy" Gay Grammer. She was the grandmother of the late Clay Griffin. She is also survived by three great- grandchildren, Amanda Baldwin McCauley, Christopher Grammer and Morgan Grammer; and two stepsons, Bert and Hunter Bowman. Gertrude was the sister of the late John William Thorpe, James A. Thorpe Sr., and Audrey Gwaltney. She is survived by brothers and sister, Jerome Thorpe, Carl Thorpe, and Catherine Outlaw. A funeral service will be held on Sunday, February 8, 2009 with visitation at 2 p.m. followed by funeral services at 3 p.m. at the J.T. Morriss & Son Funeral Home, Purviance Chapel, in Wakefield with Rev. Ray Rowland officiating. A short graveside service will follow in the Waverly Cemetery in Waverly. Memorial contributions may be made to the Waverly Congregational Christian Church, P.O. Box 636, Waverly, Va. 23890 or the Waverly Volunteer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 583, Waverly, Va. 23890. The family is being served by J.T. Morriss & Son Funeral Home, Purviance Chapel. Condolences may be posted to our website at www.jtmorriss.com.


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.