Elizabeth Vivian Gray's Obituary
Elizabeth 'Beth' V. Gray4/2/1916 ' 5/21/2012Beth, as she was know by all her friends, was born in Oakland, CA but moved to Alameda at the age of 5, at the passing of her father. She was born to Delbert and Sadie Gray. Beth essentially spent her entire life in Alameda, with many tales to tell along the way. While at Alameda High, she knew that teaching was in her blood and went about getting the education needed to be the great teacher she was. It was the depression, so she took many jobs to earn enough money to get herself thru San Francisco State College. Her first teaching job was in Walnut Grove, in a one room school house, teaching the children of the farm hands, having grades 1-8 under her guidance. From there she joined the Alameda Unified School district, which became her home for 50+ years. She taught at various grade schools, ending up at Washington Middle School. When she left Washington, to retire, she found she still wanted to teach and went on to teach at Alameda Unified Adult School, teaching ESL, and finally retiring in 1997. She never forgot a student and found great pride in learning that some of her students did well in life, and MANY did.Along with her teaching, she was instrumental in many teaching organizations, being president, and holding many other offices. She chaired committees to make sure things were done 'right'. She was a stickler for things being done right. She belonged to Delta Kappa Gamma Honor Society, Alameda Education Association among just a few of her organizations.When Beth was not teaching, she found ways to travel all around the world, going to places most people would never think of going. She took numerous photos along those trips and took pride in sharing her experiences, even falling off an elephant and breaking her thumb. In the 96 years Beth was here, she traveled and taught, and was always open to learning new things, she loved to hear what others were doing. Beth was predeceased by both her parents and her brother Alfred, who died at 9 months, Beth never knew him. She asked that the following quote, entitled This I Believe, be included. 'A hundred years from now it will not matter the sort of house I lived in, what my bank account was, or the kind of car I drove, but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.' She truly touched hundreds of children's lives, and she WAS important to many children.There will be no service, at Beth's request.Until the later part of her life, she was very active at Mastick Senior Center, and would appreciate a donation in her name to Mastick Senior Center or a charity of your choice.
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