Nell Grantham Bray, 86, passed away peacefully early Sunday morning, April 29, 2018, with her beloved daughters by her side.  Nell was born at home in Marietta, NC on August 18, 1931 to Jasper Mack Grantham, Sr. and Hannah Bennon Faulk Grantham, their fifth of seven children.

Nell's fondest childhood memories were of going to school in Fairmont, NC and to their local church, Bear Swamp Baptist in Lakeview, SC.  She vividly remembered the smell of tobacco from the many naps she would take in the barn while her father was tending the fire and curing tobacco leaves.  She graduated as valedictorian from Fairmont High School and went on to attend Gardner-Webb College and later East Carolina College (now East Carolina University) to study English.

After college, Nell devoted her life to teaching English.  She started at Goldsboro High School (1953-55) and later moved to Long Branch Elementary (1956-57), Fair Bluff High School (1957-58), and Lumberton High School (1958-67).  In 1967, she started as the Media Coordinator for the Lumberton Sr. High School library, where she worked until her retirement in 1991.  She touched many lives through her love of the English language, inspiring generations of Robesonians with her passion for reading and writing.

Family always came first for Nell.  She met Jack Bray, the love of her life, in 1947 while enrolled in a Bible course together at Fairmont High School.  They wrote letters to each other after Jack enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in January 1951, rekindled their old flame while he was home on leave that summer, and were engaged by Christmas.  They married on December 23, 1953 after Jack returned from a deployment in Japan.  They were blessed with two daughters, Jeanne Faulk Bray Marlowe and Eleanor Frances Bray Dale, and lived happily together in Lumberton, NC until Jack's death in 1974.

After her retirement, Nell dove into her many hobbies and spent lots of time with her grandsons.  She still enjoyed reading as much as possible and taught herself to crochet through a book.  She loved her garden, spending hours planting and tending to a colorful array of flowers and shrubs.  She also had a passion for genealogy, leaving behind many stories and detailed records of the Grantham and Bray families for her children and grandchildren. Nell travelled as much as possible and saw much of the United States, but one of her most memorable trips was a visit to England, Scotland, and Wales where she was able to see the birthplace of William Shakespeare.  Nell was also actively involved in her community.  As a devoted follower of Christ, she was a member at First Baptist Church in Lumberton for 60 years and taught several adult Sunday School classes.  She was a member of The Reviewers Club of Lumberton, the Col. Thomas Robeson chapter of DAR, the Glen Flora Circle at First Baptist, the Plant and Pray garden club, and was a coordinator of Baptist Women at First Baptist Church.

Nell is survived by her daughters Jeanne Bray Marlowe and Ellie Bray Dale (husband, Jeff) and four grandsons- Jackson Cordell Marlowe, James Grantham Marlowe, Matthew Cooper Dale, and Samuel Bray Dale.  She is also survived by her sister Flora Grantham Miller and several nieces and nephews.   In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her husband Jack Bray, brothers Jasper Mack Grantham and Wyves Grantham, and sisters Beatrice G. Collins, Bruce G. Morgan, and Artye G. Atkinson.

A private graveside service will be held at Gardens of Faith Cemetery in Lumberton.  A memorial service will be held at First Baptist Church on Walnut Street in Lumberton, NC at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 5th, followed by a reception at the church.  In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to First Baptist Church of Lumberton or the charity of one's choice.