Myrtle A.D. Gray

Myrtle A. Gray, 90, of Helena, formerly of Great Falls, died of natural causes Tuesday, Sept. 11, at Rosetta Assisted Living. Visitation is 4-7 p.m. Friday, with funeral services 10:30 a.m. Saturday; both will be held at OConnor Memorial Chapel. Burial will follow the service at Highland Cemetery. OConnor Funeral Home is handling arrangements. Myrtle passed away surrounded by her family and caregivers. She was born Jan.10, 1922, the youngest of five to Andrew and Maia Holum in Homestead, a small community outside Sidney. She was raised on a farm near Savage. After a hard week of work, the family enjoyed the schoolhouse dances where her mom played the piano and her brother played the accordion and the fiddle. From this, Myrtle learned to play the piano by ear and played most of her life. In her later teens, she went with her sister to Fort Peck to work. At that time, she met her husband John (Jack) Gray who also came with his brother from Detroit to work on the dam until close to completion. They were married in 1938 and moved to the Lalonde Farm, where he worked for a few years. By this time, they had two sons and a darling daughter. They moved their family to Sidney, where Jack learned carpentry and built their first house. A friend offered Jack a job in construction at Utility Builders, which he accepted. They moved around doing various construction jobs and in the 1950s he settled his family in Great Falls. After retirement, Myrtle and Jack bought the Food Basket grocery store. Myrtle stayed at home as a housewife and mom and acquired a passion for ruby dishes. As she collected ruby, forest green and cobalt blue dishes, her passion extended to various depression glassware and stemware. The love for this hobby inspired them to sell the Food Basket and purchase a building and made it into Rags to Riches Antique Store. As the store became successful, her collections were not limited to dishes but extended to all antiques. She enjoyed the store and became quite thrilled with the excitement of buying and selling. Fortunately they did celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary before Jack passed away. However, this meant she would have to close Rags to Riches. She could not part with her treasures at first so they were stored for a period of time. With some convincing, she finally parted with them. She continued to lived in Great Falls and then later moved to Helena to be near her family. She moved into Rosetta Assisted Living in 2004. This was a new complex and she was the first resident to live there. She was given a beautiful plaque honoring her as their first resident. She resided there until her demise. Myrtle is survived by her sons, Gary (Diana) Gray of Billings and John Gray of Helena; daughter Doris Pudda (Marvin) Henderson of Helena; grandchildren Zane (Karen) Gray of Billings, Rhonda (Ron) Bach of Federal Way, Wash., Quinci (Michael) Noble of Helena and Bridget (Tom) Disburg of Helena; great-grandchildren Sean and Chase Gray, Corey Scevers and Cameron, Hailey, Nashea and Erica Noble; three great-great-granddaughters; nephew Greg (Lorna) Holum of Colstrip; and nieces Shelley Holum of Colstrip and Arlene (John) McCurdy of Tennessee. She was preceded in death by her husband, Jack; her parents; brothers Elster Doc Holum and Ernest StubHolum; sisters Alice Wilson and Doris Evans; and nephew LaVern (Snooky) Wilson We want to recognize her second family, the sweet caregivers at Rosetta Assisted Living and her friends, Billie and Dorothy. In lieu of flowers, please share your memorial with Rosetta Assisted Living or St. Peters Hospice.