Ellie Gray

ELLIE GRAY
January 11, 1955 - August 14, 2024
Ellie Gray passed gracefully and gently on August 14, 2024, after a two-year battle with cancer.
Born Ellen Christine Gray on January 11, 1955, in Burbank, CA, to Joe and Ann Gray, Ellie's love of nature began young, with her parents taking her and her older brothers, Mike and Kip, into the Sierra Nevada mountains or down to Baja California to go hiking, fishing, and camping. The nearby horse ranches captured Ellie's attention, and she became a hunter-jumper equestrian, bestowed with many ribbons.
Always the independent type, she left home after high school, moving to Mammoth Lakes, CA, where she ran a health food store. There, she married her first husband, Dennis "Sparky" Sanders, and had their first child, Nathaniel. They moved to the Española, NM area and had their daughter, Claire.
She was a true pioneer woman, raising goats and chickens, keeping horses, and feeding many families with her extensive vegetable gardens. Ellie's outdoor life also included mountain biking, hiking, and downhill skiing.
Later, she moved to Santa Fe and became a massage therapist. She met Michael Nunnally through his chiropractic office, and they married in 1998. Ellie and Michael spent the next 26 years working together in health care and traveling the world, with Maui and Europe as their favorite destinations.
Ellie loved being a grandparent; "Nana," as she was called, enjoyed sharing her love of cooking, gardening, sledding, and having fun with her grandchildren.
Ellie's memory lives on as a celebration of nature, devotion to family, and, most of all, as a generous, loving, and cheerful spirit.
She is survived by her husband, Michael Nunnally; her son, Nathaniel "Natch" Sanders; her daughter, Claire (Alec Longstreth) Sanders; her brother, Joseph "Kip" Gray; step-daughters Anand (Brendan) Duncan and Lacey (Jason) Schmeltzer; and grandchildren Owen, Aaron, Eeva, Suzanne, and Wendy.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to The Food Depot.