Leon Henry Gray passed away Jan. 30, 2021, at the age of 92 at Kabul Nursing Home in Cabool, where he had been living for two years. He was very proud that he had been able to remain living at home in Mountain Grove on his own until he was 90 years old. Leon was born in Hammond, La., in 1928 and moved to Madison, Tenn. with his family when he was 17. In 1951, he married Catherine Louise Fauser (deceased 1986). They had five children, Wanda, Bonnie, Randall (deceased 2017), Douglas and Kelli. Leon graduated from Madison College in Madison, Tenn. in 1953 with a B.S in Agriculture and in 1958 with a B.S. in Nursing. In 1961, he returned to school at St. Mary’s Hospital in Duluth, Minn., and became certified as an Anesthetist. Leon worked as an Anesthetist in at Lawrence County Hospital in Lawrenceburg, Tenn. from 1962 to 1981 and also started dairy farming, which was his preferred line of work.
After retiring from Anesthesia and leaving Lawrenceburg, he dairy farmed in Chesnee, S.C. for seven years and then on to Norwood in 1988. After retiring from farming, he moved to West Plains for a few years and then to Mountain Grove, where he lived until moving to Kabul Nursing Home in March of 2019. Leon was a member of the Mountain Grove Seventh Day Adventist Church. He loved reading science, farming and nature magazines, westerns and his Bible. He enjoyed nature and liked to watch the squirrels and birds. In the past, he enjoyed many visits to the Springfield Nature Center.
Cremation is under the direction of Craig-Hurtt Funeral Home, Mountain Grove. Leon’s remains will be taken to a family cemetery in Hammond, La., to be placed with the remains of his parents, Charles Leon Gray and Alice Myrtle Bruce-Gray; his sisters Lillian and Mary Florence; and other relatives. Online condolences: www.craighurttfuneralhome.com.
