Eleanor GRAY

Passed away at her home in Oakmont, CA surrounded by her family, on Thursday, July 31, 2014. A wonderful wife, mother, and friend, she will be greatly missed. Born in Palo Alto, Eleanor Armstrong attended Palo Alto High School. She was graduated from Mills College in Oakland in 1954 with a degree in Merchandising & Design. She loved her years at Mills and the many lifelong friends she made there. Over the years these "Mills Girls" traveled together and continued to enjoy each others company. While at Mills she met a Cal student, John Gray, at a party. Elli married John in 1955 when he was on leave from the Navy. When John left the Navy in 1957, they made their home in Menlo Park, eventually establishing their home in Palo Alto. Elli was an active volunteer in Palo Alto and later in Salt Lake City, where she and John moved in 1979. She served at the Allied Arts Guild for many years, the Mills College Alumnae Association, and the Saint Marks Altar Guild. In Salt Lake City she loved her volunteer work in the newborn nursery at Saint Marks Hospital. Returning to California in 1994, Elli and John moved to the Sonoma Valley and enjoyed the many friends they made in Oakmont. They continued to travel and spend time with their three children, nine grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Elli and John were blessed with 59 years of marriage. No services are planned. The family requests that gifts to honor Eleanor be made to Mills College or to the Allied Arts Guild, Menlo Park, California.