Kathleen "Kay" Clune Gray

Kathleen (Kay) Clune Gray of Carmel passed away on February 10, 2019.  A resident of Carmel for 42 years, Kay was born and raised in New York, mostly in the little village of Wantagh, on Long Island.  Wantagh was a small place in the country then, and it nurtured in Kay a lifelong love of nature and wildlife.  As a child she enjoyed regular trips to the brand new Jones Beach State Park very close to her home, and she became a very strong swimmer as a result.  She also excelled at her school work, especially in spelling, finishing third in the statewide New York Spelling Bee competition in 1937, an accomplishment she remained very proud of all her life.  After high school, Kay lived and worked in Manhattan for a time, before joining the Coast Guard Woman’s Auxiliary during the Second World War.  She was pleased to serve her country, and remembered fondly her time with the Coast Guard stationed in Palm Beach Florida, Washington D.C., and New Orleans.

Kay was also, and she would have said most importantly, a wonderful mother and grandmother, who nurtured her four children’s and seven grandchildren’s talents with enthusiasm and engagement.  She was happily married for almost 70 years to Ennis Gray, who preceded her in death by a matter of weeks.  In midlife, as her youngest children got a little older, Kay enthusiastically returned to the workforce, and spent 10 years working for the TDK company in  Indianapolis.  Working for a Japanese company led Kay to a passionate interest in Japanese language and culture, and she became conversant in Japanese, and went on to teach classes in the language herself as part of Butler University’s continuing education program.  To her great delight, she was able in retirement to travel to Japan for long visits twice.

Kay was an enthusiastic feminist, and an early advocate for women’s equality in the workplace, and in all of society, from the earliest days of the modern women’s rights movement.  At the same time, she was a committed wife and mother, as well as a great homemaker, cook and gardener.  She saw no conflict in any of that, and believed that you could and should be what you wanted to be, if you made the effort.  Consistent with that philosophy, Kay took up golf at age 52 without ever having swung a club before that, and made herself a fine and enthusiastic golfer at Woodland Country Club for the next 35 years.

Kay is survived by her adoring children and children in law Dennis (and Aiko), Karen, James, and Timothy (and Donna).  Also by grandchildren Joan, Steven, Mari, Blaine, Mathew, Nathan and Kyle.  She was predeceased by her dedicated husband Ennis, and by her beloved younger brother, Captain James Clune, USCG.

Friends and family are invited to gather on Friday February 15, 2019 from 2:00pm to 3:00pm at Flanner Buchanan – Carmel, 325 E. Carmel Dr., Carmel, IN 46032, where a memorial service will begin at 3:00pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Salvation Army.