Ann Gardner-Gray

Gardner Gray, Sarah Ann Harman, 89, born Oct. 10, 1919 in Tazewell, Virginia, passed away on July 18, 2009 at Richfield Recovery Care Center in Salem, Virginia after a long illness.

Ann was the youngest and last surviving child of Shields Sidney Forrest Harman and Martha Wray Harman of Tazewell, Virginia.

She grew up on the family farm with four other brothers and sisters. She graduated from Tazewell High School in 1938 and from Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina where she received a degree in English. Ann and her sister, Cassandra, both taught high school in Henry County, Virginia before World War II. During the war years, she served as a full time volunteer for the American Red Cross. During the later 1940’s, she was a full time volunteer for funding for the organization. It was on one of those campaign trips across the state of Virginia she met the man who was to be her first husband, Lewyn Hutson Gardner, of Shawsville, Virginia. Ann and Lewyn were married in August 1951 in Tazewell, Virginia and resided at the family home in Shawsville, Virginia for the entire thirty-five years of their marriage. In October of 1986, Ann was widowed. Three years later she was introduced to Dr. George Alexander Grey, of Blacksburg, Virginia by her brother-in-law, Bentley Hite, at a University Club dance.

George and Ann were married on Oct. 20, 1990 in Tazewell, Virginia and enjoyed many happy years of travel, mutual interests and support of community projects. They were avid bridge players with many treasured friends. Ann was always a gracious hostess of parties, especially those at the home at Christmas. Ann will be remembered by many for her years of dedicated weekly volunteer service at the Cancer Center of Lewis-Gale Hospital in Roanoke, Virginia and to the Smithfield plantation in Blacksburg, Virginia as docent. She was active in the Presbyterian Women of Christiansburg Presbyterian Church where she transferred her membership from the Tazewell Christian Church when she first came to Montgomery County in 1951.

Ann is survived by her husband of almost twenty years, Dr. George Alexander Gray , of Shawsville, Virginia and several cousins, nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews: Martha Anderson, of Kingsport, TN, Mary Rordam, of Blacksburg, VA, Macon Sammons, of Mount Airy, N.C., Nancy Bashir, of La Habra Heights, CA, Cassandra Olsen, of Hanover, NH, May Straughan, of Wise, VA, Rosemary Vaughan, of Portsmouth, VA, Judy Dickerson, of Chesapeake, VA, Ann Cadden, of Mt. Sinai, NY, Mary Hendry, of Portsmouth, VA, Ernestine Aberle, of Clarence Center, NY, William Goslee, of Newport News, VA, Carol Hagy, of Rocky Mount, VA, Clara McClain, of Hamburg, NY, Meredith and Christian Olsen, and Sara, Asad and Asif Bashir, Kate Sammons, Gardner and Landon Rordam. Ann was preceded in death by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. S.S. F. Harman, her brother, Frank Wray Harman, her sister, Cassandra Harman Hite, her half-sister, Kate Edna Harman Wahlin and her half brother, Shields Forrest “Mike” Harman. Ann will be remembered as a loyal daughter, sister, wife and aunt by all. She loved her family, her community and her friends.

A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, July 21, 2009 in the Horne Funeral Chapel with Dr. Donald Makin officiating. Interment to follow in White Cemetery, Shawsville, VA. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to The Mountain Valley Charitable Foundation, P.O. Box 187, Shawsville, VA 24162.