Claudette Gay

1946 - 2023

Claudette Gay
January 18, 1946 - May 24, 2023
Cambridge, Massachusetts - Claudette Gay, nee Bateau, age 77, passed away on Wednesday, May 24, 2023 in Lexington, MA. She was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 1946 to Miracia Pascal and Robert Bateau. She was the seventh of twelve children. She immigrated to the United States in 1967, arriving first in Boston, MA before joining other members of her family in New York City. In New York, she reunited with Sony Gay, Sr., who had also emigrated from Haiti, and they were married later that year. They eventually had two children, a boy and a girl, before moving to Savannah, GA, where she earned a degree from Armstrong State College and started her nursing career. After several years in Savannah, she moved with her family to Saudi Arabia, the first of many moves in support of her husband's career that took her from Saudi Arabia to Los Angeles, Colorado Springs, and finally Sacramento. She lived in Sacramento for nearly 30 years, working for most of that time as an RN at UC Davis Medical Center. Later in life she returned to school to complete a bachelor's degree at Chapman University. Her marriage to Sony Gay, Sr. ended in 2004. She retired in 2008 and eventually relocated to the Boston area to be near her grandson who was a great source of joy in her life.
Claudette is survived by her son Sony Gay, Jr. of Detroit, MI, her daughter Claudine Gay, grandson Costa Gay-Afendulis, and son-in-law Chris Afendulis, who graciously managed her affairs throughout her prolonged illness, all of Cambridge, MA.
In lieu of flowers, we ask that anyone wishing to honor Claudette's memory do so with a donation to the organization Partners In Health.