Heaven gained one of its soon to be most unique residents on December 2, 2023. Robert William Gray, Sr., aka “Bob” to his friends or “Big Bob” to his family, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family and friends.
Bob was born on March 12, 1934, in Lincoln County, TN, to the late James Davis Gray and Hattie Emma Wade Gray. He was a 1952 graduate of Central High School. Bob attended Middle Tennessee State College (MTSC) and was in the ROTC program. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from MTSC in 1956. After graduation he was commissioned as an officer into the US Army. Mr. Gray worked with Brown Engineering at Marshall Space Flight Center to help man reach the moon. Bob later returned to school earning his Master’s degree in Education Administration, leading him to start his teaching career with Fayetteville City Schools. Bob would become the Principal at Highland Rim School, Principal at Eighth District School, and superintendent of Lincoln County School District.
Bob met the love of his life, Margie Harrison Gray, at an ROTC dance at MTSC. Together they enjoyed 67 years of marriage. To their union they had two sons, Bob (Cathy) Gray, Jr. of Fayetteville, and Walter (Lori) Gray of Murfreesboro. Additional survivors include his brother, Davis “Skeebo” Gray, Jr. of Germantown, TN; grandchildren, Jennifer (David) Flanigan, Rob (Rachel) Gray, III, Holley (Adam) Wright, Mary Gray, Brian (Haley) Gray, and Kelly (Nate) Conley; great-grandchildren, Ellie Flanigan, Emmie Flanigan, Will Gray, Samuel Wright, and Nolan Gray; and numerous extended family members and beloved friends.
Instead of boring you with the countless accolades Big Bob received throughout his life (which he was not fond of discussing), we thought it best to pass along the following words of wisdom.
Big Bob’s 10 Commandments:
- Be a friend to everyone (even Alabama fans of which his brother, Skeebo, is one).
- Do not EVER let the wine go bad.
- Kill them with kindness, with the only exception being groundhogs that have taken up residence under your house.
- It is always best to do as Margie says, but if you do not, she better not find out.
- Big Bob’s Golfisms:
- No matter how many strokes you make on a hole, it is still possible to make par if you are the one keeping score.
- You will have a lot more Hole in Ones after you outlive your foursome, which Big Bob did.
- If you have the opportunity to play golf with your granddaughter, try to keep your tobacco in your mouth.
- Don’t waste good ghost stories on adults. Tell them to your young, impressionable grandchildren, so they go home to their parents and do not sleep for weeks.
- Your children are important until your grandchildren arrive, but when your 5 great grandchildren show up no one else matters.
- 67 years with the love of your life is never enough, but apparently it’s not long enough to properly sweep the leaves out of the carport.
- Make sure that your grandchildren’s weddings are epic celebrations. You are never too old to be the life of the party, dance moves included.
- On your last day, be able to say “I have had the best life ride of anyone. Only happy tears for me.”
A funeral service will be held at 1 PM on Tuesday, December 5, 2023, at First Presbyterian Church of Fayetteville with Bro. Harold Dawkins and Rev. Bruce McVey officiating. Burial will follow in the Rose Hill Cemetery. Visitation with the family will be from 11 AM until the time of service on Tuesday at the church.
Memorials may be made to the First Presbyterian Church of Fayetteville Missions Fund, P. O. Box 472, Fayetteville, TN 37334.
Higgins Funeral Home is honored to be serving the family of Bob Gray.
Margie, “Little” Bob and family, Walter and family.; my memories began at MTSC of Bob, Margie and Skeebo. Then here in Fayetteville and Lincoln County . All of your families accomplishments and accolades and the memories of the teachers and children whose lives were touched by Bob during his years serving as a teacher, principal, and superintendent of schools .He will be missed by many. My thoughts and prayers and the stirring of my memories will include all of you during this time of grieving. Sincerely Jim
Dear Gray Family, We are so sorry for your loss. Prayers for comfort. Anthony & Kay Howard Honey
To the Family, Bob was such a genuinely nice person. We never saw him that he didn’t come by to speak with us. I know that he will be greatly missed by his family and many, many friends. May God give you comfort and peace.
When Jim and I married, our first home together was in Fayetteville when Jim worked for CFW Construction Company. We attended The First Presbyterian Church there, and I taught at Robert E. Lee Elementary School. Margie and Bob became some of our dearest friends. We left Fayetteville in 1979, but our memories were always cherished of Margie and Bob and their wonderful sense of humor … and direction for this newly wedded couple. Bob was loved and his memory will remain in my heart forever!
Bob was definitely a unique man. For the lives he touched, he will never be gone. My mom, Faye Timberman, thought the world of him, as do I. May God hold his family in his comforting arms, for this is the greatest comfort of all.
Mr. Gray was my first principal and an exceptional one at that. He had great humor and joy when working with the educators in his building. Prayers for his family during this time!!!
Mr. Gray was one of my favorites! He was a great principal, teacher and friend. What a wonderful life he lived and what a great legacy he left behind. Prayers for the Gray family.
What wonderful memories I hold for Mr. Gray and the entire family. As the principal of Highland Rim and the father of our classmates Bob and Walter, the Gray family has always been special to the Gladish family. As I read messages from Coach Milstead and Coach McGrath, I smile and recall worlds gone by, but remain as vivid as if they were from yesterday. I’m sending rays of happiness and hope for the joy he has brought our world to continue to shine on us during our lives here and beyond. You lived a full and joyous life, Mr. Gray, and I am so happy to have enjoyed time and smiles (and perhaps a few moments of reprimand from you)🤭❤️
Mr. Gray was my favorite teacher. He taught Jr. High math. He had a way with the kids and made each and every one feel special. He wrote a half a page in my annual, and I’ll never forget all the nice things he said.
I was so sad to hear of Bob’s passing. I knew him and Margie for many years. Margie taught my daughter and Mr Gray was my principal at Eighth District. He was such a caring person. He loved all the students and was so good to them. I remember him giving me his personal checkbook and sending me to Walmart with one of our students with directions to buy new clothes and whatever he needed. This was a student who was very poor and needed clothes to come to school. That’s the kind of person he was. He made school fun. The teachers respected him and the students craved his attention and approval. My favorite years teaching were under his leadership. He touched many lives and will be missed. My condolences to you Margie and all his kids and grands.
I enjoyed having Mr. Gray for 9th grade advanced placement math and science. In math class I eventually discovered that the mineographed pages of problems actually came from a college algebra and trig textbook! As a result of his teaching, I breezed through this course in college and was asked to tutor other students in my class. Our advanced science class was mainly a physics class, but we also had two major projects: the first was for each of several teams to design their own model city of the future. This required a lot of thought and study as we chose our location, layout, types of industry, transportation system, housing, etc. The second was to design and build a model of a space ship to go to Mars. For this we had a team for each component of the vessel, and we had to coordinate with other teams regarding size, weights, etc. We learned a lot about researching and collaboration. Mr. Gray made learning interesting and challenging!
We met Bob & Margie through mutual friends. Steve and Bob played golf together. We also as a group went out to eat . Bob had a great sense of humor. He will be missed.
Love & prayers to family.
Bob and I graduated from high school together in 1952. We had many good memories before and after that. We considered Bob and Margie as good friends and have shared many happy times together. Rest in peace Bob and May God bless you, Margie and family.
Oh my such a unique obituary, and the best ever. I can testify to his love for his grandchildren. He was always spotted in the stands at softball games for Mary as a youngster and Holly as a high school player. He was kind spoken and I admired him to the fullest. I’m so sorry for the loss of this fine gentleman.
Oh Bob, Linda and I will miss you greatly.These last few years have meant so much to us., all the stories, the laughter at our gatherings will be our treasured memories until we meet you again on hole #1in Heaven and as usual we will all say HIT ANOTHER ONE BOB!! Our condolences to Sweet Margie and the Family.You will be missed our friend!!❤️❤️⛳️⛳️
Dear Margie, I was so honored to teach at Highland Rim School when Mr. Gray was my principal. I will be praying for you and your family during this sad time for all of us. Love, Martha Wolf
Very sorry to here the passing of Mr. Gray. He was a very nice and kind man. I worked with him at Eighth District School, I worked in Cafertia. He would come through every morning checking on all the workers in the kitchen. He was very carrying. May God continue to Bless all of you!!🙏🏽
Jerry and I have known Bob and Margie for many years. We treasure every one of the happy moments.
Love and prayers for the family.
Many years ago and another lifetime, I was Bob’s co-owner of the Coach’s Corner Sporting Goods Store in Fayetteville. We grew to be very good friends while being fellow teachers and coaches at the Fayetteville Junior High School. Bob was a good mentor to me, and I always found him to be a man of the greatest integrity and a pretty good fisherman. As the years have slipped away, I have thought about him many times. Along his journey in life, Bob helped mold the lives of a lot of Lincoln County children and a few old crusty folks like me. He will certainly be missed by everyone. My greatest sympathy is extended to Margie, the boys and their families.
There are so many great stories that come out of the many times Bob went on Mission trips. A book would not hold them all. Many would be accounts of the many talents he used in helping people in need. But some would be about who Bob was as a fun loving and caring Christian man. One of my very favorite stories came as we shared a meal after a hard day of work installing a Living Waters for the World system in Guatemala. We were eating pizza with the team and several friends we had made at our work site. Miriam , who was our interpreter was helping us order and see to it that we were fed well. After the pizza was delivered to the table, Bob picked up a shaker which he thought contained grated cheese to apply to his pizza. Miriam noticed Bob shaking the contents on his pizza and screamed “ no Bob that is sugar”! Too late as Bob had already put a fair amount on his pizza. Miriam insisted that he throw it away , but Bob being the caring mission minded person he was picked it up and took a bite. Wasting something was not in his nature! As he chewed the sweetened pizza, someone asked” how is it Bob!”With his usual big grin on his face he replied “ sweet”! Everyone enjoyed a big laugh and Bob usually kept us all upbeat and happy with his fantastic approach to working and a life of helping others! Sweet was the way he described the pizza but it is also the appropriate word to describe how he approached his life working with others in all the mission projects he was involved in. Thanks for a life well lived!
So sorry.
I’ve known Mr Bob since I was a very little girl, at the age of 3-4 yrs old, I’m now, 68. His Mom , “Miss Red”, lived just up the street from us. I always thought Mr Bob was a great man and his wife Ms Margie was just as precious. I saw Mr Bob at Geralds Foodland, a few months ago. I had to tell him who I was. Afterwards, we had a nice conversation. Mr Bob will be missed.
Bob will be missed by many! He was my husband’s and my good friend for many years. We looked forward to being with Bob And Margie for many reasons. They were fun, they were loyal, they were honest and truthful, they were caring friends.
There is a tremendous void in the space that Bob occupied. It will not be filled in this lifetime.
I love you, Marge! If I can help in any way just let me know.
Bob Gray was one of the greatest men, coach, and teacher that I have ever known. I was privileged to know him in so many roles. Heaven will never be the same……
Loved all, but Number 10 was the best for me. So , so sorry. In my thoughts and prayers.🙏
Bobby always claimed I was the favorite with Mama and Daddy (even though there was no favorite son). One Christmas @ Mama’s house I got 3 small packages and Bobby got 1 larger one. When he opened his, he only got 1 sock! He turned around with that look on his face and he said “I told you Skeebo was the favorite!”
To Ms Margie and Mr. Bob’s entire family, I am so sorry for your loss. Mr. Bob was one of my favorite teachers! My thoughts and prayers are with all of you now and in the future as you grieve his passing.
A really nice man, sleep in peace Mr.Gray.
U were an amazing man….always so kind to me never forgot me. Thank u for your wisdom & the passion to share! Rest in eternal peace Mr. Bob Gray! Prayers for peace for the family🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Sure hated to hear that Mr. Bob was sick much less passing away. Can’t believe y’all were just down at Moms extending your condolences for my Dads passing. Life is definitely short and we must live our lives to the fullest. I’m sure Daddy said, “ What the heck are you doing up here so soon…….we’ve got a foursome so let’s play golf!! Love you both and sure will miss Mr. Bob.
So sorry to hear that we’ve lost such a great man. I’ll cherish all the sweet memories I have of him from my days at Highland Rim.
To his family, my deepest sympathies. And thank you for sharing him with all of his school kids.
Mr. Gray was such an awesome man. I truly enjoyed knowing him and being a student while he was the principal. RIP Mr. Gray.
To the family — you are in our prayers.
Mr. Gray was the principal of Highland Rim when I started first grade and was there until I went to Blanche high school. He was the best. Everyone liked him. One time everyone on our bus got sent to his office and my friend Jr. started crying so Mr Gray told everyone to go to class except for Jr and he set Jr. Down and gave him a Coke. This was a time when we were not allowed to drink coke at school.
Con and I both offer our heartfelt sympathies to Margie, the boys, and all the dear family. We have loved each of you for so many years. Both of us have wonderful memories of Bob and all that he has meant to us. We have shared our love and appreciation of Bob with Margie and the family many times. Most importantly, we were able to share with Bob himself how much he helped to shape our lives. He was always there in any time of need. Bob and Margie always have had a sixth sense about when a friend is in trouble or need. They are always there to do whatever is needed. We have all lost our rock. May God hold the family and friends in the palm of His hand. This is not “Goodbye;” it is instead “See you later, Big Bob!” Until then, “We will hang in there like a rusty nail.”
I worked with him when he was the principal at Eighth District. I remember many days answering the phone and when someone asked for him he was golfing! He only did it on days when we weren’t doing much. Such a wonderful boss and man. His wife called one day and when we said that she told us we really covered for him!!
Bob will be missed by many friends. He was a delight to be with and the golf buddies enjoyed him at the club. We are so sorry for your loss and our prayers are with you.
I’ll never forget the Christmas Uncle Bobby was telling everyone he had a car phone (before small cell phones)! He went out to his truck and he had an old rotary phone in the front seat and he said he held up the receiver when he was driving down the road!
Love him so much and he will be so greatly missed.