Mary Irene Weedon Gray

Mary Irene Weedon Gray, 96, of El Paso, Texas, well known by friends and family as “Irene”, died on Sunday, January 19, 2025, in her home after a brief illness. 

Irene was born on December 31, 1928 to Hiram and Lola Mae Jones Weedon. She grew up on a farm in Frederick, Maryland and was the youngest girl of six children. Irene was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Wilmer O. Gray, Jr.; son, Dwayne Edward Gray; and siblings: Albert, Hayes, Mildred, Virginia, and Edgar. 

Irene was raised in the country and spent her early life on a farm in Frederick County, Maryland. Later, the family moved to a small town, Sunnyside. Her father, Hiram Weedon, delivered ice cream in his pick-up truck. (Her life-long love of ice cream began early.) Her mother, Lola Weedon, was a homemaker. Brothers and sisters walked from the farm to the schoolhouse. Sunnyside was both the name of the school and the Methodist church she attended. A Weedon family plot stands on the church land. 

In high school, Irene sang in the choir and played basketball. Upon graduation from Lincoln High School, she received a basketball scholarship of $50 to attend Bowie Teachers College, now renamed Bowie State University (HBCU) in Bowie, Maryland. 

Upon graduation from college, Irene began her teaching career in a one-story building in Doubs, MD. She met her future husband, Wilmer O. Gray, Jr., a soldier in the Army after reading the local newspaper “classifieds.” Wilmer said his wife was “like his mother,” a lefty and a farm girl. Their married life lasted for sixty-one years. 

Irene was a consummate homemaker. She was an excellent cook and her family had many favorites: fried chicken, homemade ice cream, peach cobbler, and catfish. She sewed and made many of her daughters’ elementary school clothes. Irene could make root beer and preserve jelly, vegetables, and peaches. Her unselfish loving heart was expressed in the making of a beautiful and happy home which nurtured her children and others. Cultivating an atmosphere in the home of attention, respect, and faith in God, Irene often served as “mother and father” while her husband was deployed to Korea, Vietnam, and Germany. 

In 1965, after returning from Germany with six children in tow, the Grays moved to El Paso where her husband, was assigned to Ft. Bliss, TX. After many years as a stay-at-home mother and US Army officer’s wife, Irene returned to the classroom as a first-grade teacher. Her twenty-five-year teaching career in Texas was at Fannin Elementary School in Northeast El Paso with the El Paso Independent School District. She was selected and honored as Teacher of the Year in 1991-92 and became one of the Top 10 Finalists for EPISD Teacher of the Year. 

Though raised Methodist, Irene was later baptized as a Baptist and united with Shiloh Baptist Church under the leadership of the late Dr. Howard Humphrey. She regularly attended worship services and bible study, worked in Mission I, and was a long-time advisor of the Sunbeams Children’s Choir. For over fifty years, Irene Gray faithfully and devotedly provided financial and spiritual support to all church endeavors. Until the very day of her transition, she maintained caring and loyal relationships with her “Shiloh Baptist Family.” 

 After their joint retirements from the field of education, Irene and Wilmer cruised the world – visiting Russia, China, Vietnam, Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, Panama, Hawaii, and Alaska. They enjoyed visiting their children, grandchildren, and family members across the country. 

Irene and Wilmer were loyal supporters of sorority and fraternal organizations and members of local community organizations such as the UTEP Circle of Champions, NAACP, El Paso Retired Teachers Association, Prairie View A&M Alumni Association, and El Paso Black Democrats. She was a charter member of the El Paso Chapter of The Links, Inc. and a Past President of The Birthday Club. 

Mary Irene Gray leaves behind daughters, Patricia (Ron), Willeta, Michele (Michael), and Pamela and son, Michael (Theresa). Grandchildren: Kimberly and Shellee (Patricia), Vera (Willeta), Desmond and Brandon (Michele), Elizabeth (Michael) and great grandson Javon (Kim). Plus, many more nieces, nephews, cousins, and extended family and friends. 

At one of her final Sundays at Shiloh, Irene shared a brief biography of her life ending with these words: “I am grateful and feel blessed for the wonderful life I have had. I pass the torch!” Mary Irene Gray knew she was richly blessed by God - with longevity, health, strength, and a loving caring family. 

"For if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.”  -Romans 14:8 

Viewing will be from 4:00 - 8:00pm with a Prayer Service to begin at 6:00pm on Wednesday, Februay 05, 2025 at Sunset Funeral Home - Northeast, 4631 Hondo Pass Dr.  

Funeral services will be held at 10:30am on Thursday, February 06, 2025 at Shiloh Baptist Church, 3201 Frutas Avenue with Burial services to follow at 1:30pm on Thursday February 06, 2025 at Fort Bliss Military Cemetery, 5200 Fred Wilson Avenue.