Obituary of Margaret Rose Bray

Margaret Rose Crouse Bray was born in Thomasville, North Carolina, on January 1, 1934. She passed away on December 18, 2018, in Sylva. She was the daughter of Everett and Verda Mae Crouse and the sister of Billy Crouse, all of Thomasville, North Carolina, and all of whom predeceased her. Margaret is survived by her daughter, Laurie Bray Bicknell, and her daughter's partner, Gary Truitt, both of High Point, and her sister-in-law, Glenda Crouse, of Thomasville. Also surviving is her partner of 43 years, Penny Smith, and two feisty Yorkies who adored her. Margaret graduated from what was then called Women's College, the first person in her family to earn a college degree. She became a classroom teacher, moving often with her then husband, Travis Bray, who was in the Air Force. She subsequently earned a graduate degree in counseling at East Carolina University and spent many years as a counselor at Andrews High School in High Point. While at Andrews she earned a doctorate in counseling from UNC-Greensboro, later became a certified administrator, and served as principal at the elementary and then middle school levels in Guilford County. Upon retiring, Margaret moved to the mountains of North Carolina. There she indulged in some of her favorite activities: leafing in the fall, seeking wildflowers in the spring, walking and hiking whenever possible, reading, playing with her dogs, and visiting exotic places in this country and abroad. There will be no funeral or memorial service. However, if friends want to remember her, they can do so by donating to the Smith-Bray Endowment, a scholarship at the University of Houston's College of Optometry (make checks to Foundation for Education and Research in Vision or FERV, UHCO, 4901 Calhoun Road, Texas 77204 and put Smith-Bray Endowment in the memo line). . .