In Memoriam: Jean Futral Bray

Jean Bray was an active member of our Ridge & Valley Storytelling Guild. She would occasionally tell us a brief anecdote, sometimes from her 30 year career rubbing shoulders with some of Georgia's most famous politicos and lawyers as legal secretary at King and Spaulding, one of the largest law firms in the world and headquartered in Atlanta.

One month a couple of years ago Jean was our primary storyteller and she came prepared with a beautifully illustrated pasteboard with a group of sayings she had learned from her mother. How I wish I had a photo of that poster and a recording of her entertaining reciting and storytelling about her mother's sayings. 

When the pandemic came along in March of 20920 we ceased our monthly R&V meetings and had not gotten back to them by the time I started taking my Arrowhead animals to The Spires at Berry College, a retirement complex, to tell stories regularly. One day I was pleasantly surprised to find Jean in my audience, and for the last year and a half or so I have seen her fairly regularly. 

Only a few weeks ago she attended one of our storytelling sessions there. She had heard me discussing my political collection with my friend and fellow collector Jack Summerbell, so she had a present for me - a small George McGovern button from 1972. After the session she stood in the hallway with me to tell me a brief story and to give me the button. 

I last saw Jean on January 26. After our program that day she talked to me a bit about the storytelling class she was taking at Berry through their senior scholar program. She said she was working on a story that she might tell -- or maybe read -- to us in February. I was looking forward to that and I hate that we will miss it.

I will truly miss her. 

Here is her obituary from the internet:

Mrs. Jean Futral Bray, 88, of Rome GA passed from our world on February 16, 2023 in a Rome hospital after a brief illness. Mrs. Bray was born in Wadley, Jefferson County, Georgia on March 6, 1934. 

Jean was preceded in death by her husband, Larry E. Bray and sons Ty Harrison Bray and Larry E Bray, Jr. and her brother Eben Futral. She was the daughter of the late Tom Futral and Wilma Moore Futral. 

Jean graduated from Wadley High School and attended business college in Atlanta. She was a legal secretary at King and Spalding in Atlanta for over 30 years. She loved to quilt and was a member of the Lavender Mountain Quilt Guild in Rome GA. 

She was a voracious reader and wrote many stories as well as being a Story Teller at Big Fibbers in Rome. Jean also loved to play cards with her quilting friends. She had an inquisitive mind. Being a life long learner, she enrolled in several classes at Berry College. She was also a very successful gardener. 

Mrs. Bray is survived by her children, Joan (Grover) Holmes, Robin Bray McFalls, Melissa Gould, Tim (Connie) Forbes, Tommie (Paul) Mack, and Robert (Norma) Bray. She had 16 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren. 

A Celebration of Life will be held summer of 2023. In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorial contributions be sent to Lifelink of Georgia.

It was through Jean's connection to the Lavendar Mountain Quilt Club 
that we had beautiful quilt displays for the stage at several 
of our Big Fibbers Storytelling Festivals.