Mary Lou Gray

Long-time Agawam resident Mary Louise Gray died June 24, 2025 of kidney failure at her home in Meadowbrook Manor. She was 81.

Mary Lou was born in 1943 in Darby, Pennsylvania, the second daughter of James Kenneth Gray and Ruth Gertrude Gray. Her father's work as an engineer for Sikorsky entailed several family moves, the happiest of which for Mary Lou was the chance to live in Canada during her early teens. She enjoyed the schools there and discovered sailing. Her parents gave Mary Lou and her sister Jackie a dinghy of their own and taught them to sail on Lake Ontario. She also had great memories of eating, at the beach, authentic fish and chips, served wrapped in newspaper as they are in England.

After returning to the States and completing high school in Suffield, Connecticut, she worked in a varied range of jobs in the area, including sewing and stringing leaves for tobacco farms in Southwick and Suffield, helping prepare the crop for use as cigar wrappers. She recalled having to watch for small snakes and other creatures that might have snuggled into the leaves, only to surprise the workers as they sewed them for drying.

She later went to nursing school, enrolling in LPN training at Putnam Vocational Academy in Springfield, Massachusetts. After receiving her license, she worked at Mercy Hospital, also in Springfield, for 19 years. Mary Lou found her career deeply rewarding and loved being a nurse, particularly the variety offered by working in many different parts of the hospital and the honor of helping patients-it was a wonderful fit for somebody as outgoing and people-oriented as she was. She made many lifelong friends among other nurses. As someone who had health challenges later in life that resulted in visits to Mercy as a patient, she had the benefit of having learned how the hospital worked and the lingo. This often helped her gain the respect of those who cared for her since she was an "insider." During one of her admissions, an ER doctor thanked her for her many years helping patients at his hospital.

Mary Lou was the original "crafty lady" long before the term became a buzzword. She enjoyed all kinds of crafts and hobbies, including macramé-participating in a group formed during macramé's heyday in the 1970s named "Yes, You Can Knot!" She also enjoyed knitting, crocheting, sewing, and counted cross-stitch and her home had many handmade crafts adorning the walls.

Travel was another great pleasure in her life, especially her love of the ocean and her particular favorite, York Beach in Maine. She and her beloved dog Mitchell, often accompanied by friends or family members, would visit regularly. There, they enjoyed the iconic lighthouse, fresh lobster and shrimp, the beach, and the nightly sounds of the sea. She always tried to book lodging in a room where she could hear the waves.

Mary Lou met Bob Mitchell, whom she called the 'love of her life,' in the early 1980s and the two made a home together in West Springfield. They moved to Port Charlotte, Florida in 2000 and resided there until his death in 2008, after which she returned to the Springfield area, settling in Agawam in 2010 for her retirement. Previous to her relationship with Bob, Mary Lou had two marriages, first to Peter Woodell then to David Scagliarini.

In addition to a warm group of loving friends, Mary Lou is survived by her five children, Marie Mathes, John Woodell (Marianne), Jim Woodell (Arthur Smith), Melinda Scagliarini, and Michelle Kaler, as well as seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild. She was predeceased by her sister Jacqueline Gray.

A memorial mass will take place on Saturday, July 19, at 1:00 at Saint John the Evangelist Church in Agawam, followed immediately by a reception at the church.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Dakin Humane Society of Springfield, MA.