Maida Gray

A service of celebration will be held in honor of Maida Wimberly Gray, M.D. on Saturday, January 31, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at Clark Springs Baptist Church in Eros, LA. The visitation will be held from 1:00 p.m. until service time on Saturday. The burial will follow at Clark Springs Baptist Church Cemetery. Bro. Stephen Beard (son-in-law) and Bro. Declan Beard (grandson) will be officiating the services.

Maida Ivyleen Farnell Wimberly Gray, 72, of Monroe, Louisiana, passed away peacefully on January 28, 2026. She was surrounded by the ones she loved. Maida was born on December 30, 1953, in Monroe, LA, to Ivy Hamilton Farnell and Madeline Fair Farnell. After graduating from La Tech in premed, she went on to complete medical school in San Jose, Costa Rica. Even though she did not initially speak Spanish, she went on to graduate at the top of her class. While in Costa Rica, she spent 14 years working in the jungles of Talamacha, ministering to the Bri-Bri Indians. She performed surgeries, delivered babies, and saved many lives. Sometimes she would be paid with a chicken or a home cooked meal. At Christmas, she would make gift baskets filled with food and toys for the kids. When she came back to the States, she taught medical assistants how to support physicians and keep medical offices running efficiently. She also met and married the love of her life, Paul “Sammy” Gray, with whom she spent 18 wonderful years with.

Maida is celebrating with her spouse, Paul “Sammy” Gray, parents Ivy Hamilton and Madeline Fair Farnell, stepmother Elvie Bedsole-Farnell, and sister Patricia Evelyn Henry.

Those left to cherish her memories are her daughter, Amy Beard and husband Stephen, three wonderful grandchildren that she adored; Joseph Beard and wife Meagn, Declan Beard and fiancé Ashley, and Christopher Popwell and girlfriend Annie, three precious step children; Joseph “Andy” Gray, Shelby Gray, and Sarah Webb, great grandchildren Colton and McKayla Beard, Waylon Gray, Aryssa, Paysley, and Attie Gray, brother Ivy “Lynn” Farnell, niece Mary Linda Farnell, and by numerous other nieces, nephews, and other loving family and friends.

Serving as pallbearers will be Joseph Beard, Declan Beard, Chris Popwell, Colton Beard, and Joseph “Andy” Gray.