Janis Sylvia Gray

Thank you for such a beautiful photo of Janis, who always brought a smile to my face. She thoughtfully worked to perfection on every task that she took on. My closest shared project with Janis was my 20 years of our collaboration on Our Town newsletter. She professionally and voluntarily produced that newsletter on time every time! She was the steady driving force behind the communication between our municipal government and its citizens for 30 years; never to be replaced; always...

i´m very sorry for your loss, nancy long

Janis was a dear friend and lunchtime conversation partner during my time working for Channing Bete in South Deerfield. She was full of ideas and observations, and a brilliant writer. I´m so glad to have known her, and sad that she is gone.

I was just thinking about Janis the other day. I taught her daughter Rosemary flute and band at Shutesbury Elementary School and then continued to teach her privately at the Red Barn Music School in Amherst. I always got to talk with Janis when I saw her before and after Rosemary's lessons. She always had a smile on her face and a quick, witty comment to make. I'll always remember her. My deepest condolences to her family.

May her memory be for a blessing. Janis was a much-treasured part of the Shutesbury community, and we will miss her.

Janis was a complex, passionate and curious human being. Her presence will be deeply missed in this community, and I am deeply grateful to have had her and her family in my life.

Janis was a steadfast, powerful force at our beloved Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst. For thirty years she edited and produced the UU newsletter that kept everyone in touch and fostered a sense of connection among the congregation and in the greater community. I loved her passion and her tremendous wit.

To say that Janis will be missed feels like an understatement. She was such an essential part of the UUSA for so many of us. She was the keeper of the Angel in the sanctuary; more knowledgeable than anyone else about this spectacular glass art. She was a steady and reliable presence in the choir, and I loved singing with her. Her name was on every weekly and monthly calendar and newsletter and because of her you knew all the information was accurate, spelled correctly, and that she had had...