Obituary of Evelyn Joan GRAY (nee Prokop)

September 19, 1941 – Winnipeg, Manitoba
February 18, 2021 – Calgary, Alberta

It is with great sadness the family of Evelyn Gray announces her sudden passing on Thursday, February 18, 2021 at the age of 79 years. The world will be a much quieter place without Evelyn in it.

Evelyn came into the world in Winnipeg, MB, in 1941. She was raised in the North End, and graduated from West Kildonan Collegiate. She then attended the Manitoba Technical Institute which launched her administrative career, most notably at Air Canada (Winnipeg) and ICBC (Cranbrook, BC). She married Frank in 1969, started her family in 1973, and moved to Cranbrook with the family in 1981.

Evelyn’s Polish roots were incredibly important to her. While in Winnipeg, she was an active member of the Polish Community and took great pride in being a member of the Sokol Choir and Dancers. She always celebrated many of the Polish traditions and introduced her delicious pierogis and many other Polish delicacies to her non-Polish friends. 

Her spiritual life and community was also integral to her being. She was a long time member of the Christ the Servant Catholic Church Music Ministry, Parish Council, the Outreach Program, and Catholic Women’s League. 

She has spent a lifetime dabbling in many different hobbies. For many years, she was a familiar face around the Cranbrook Golf Club. Her favourite pastime of late was bridge, and she enjoyed every moment she spent playing bridge with the members of the Rocky Mountain Bridge Club. 

Without question, Evelyn’s love of people was at the core of her being. Once you were in Evelyn’s life, you were there forever. She considered every person she encountered a friend, and she would learn the life story of every person who would give her the time of day. Heaven help you if you got the seat next to Evelyn on an airplane. Her friends and family were everything to her and she would drop everything to share in all of life’s highs and lows.

She will be remembered as a woman of many words, loyal beyond belief, with a heart of gold who kept her family and countless friends close to her always. 

Evelyn will be forever in the hearts of Frank--her adoring husband of fifty-two years, daughter Leah Zille (Dave), son Colin Gray, and her grandson Jonah Zille—the light of her life. She will also be fondly remembered by her six nephews and nieces and their families, her "sister-cousins", her countless dear friends, and her large extended family. Evelyn was predeceased by her parents, Andrew and Mary (nee Kostyra) Prokop, and her sister Virginia Carberry.

An opportunity to celebrate Evelyn’s life will occur when gatherings are once again permitted. Those wishing to remember Evelyn can do so by donation to the Heart and Stroke Foundation www.heartandstroke.ca, Christ the Servant Outreach Program, 1100 14th Ave. S. Cranbrook, BC, V1C 2Y3, Telephone: 250-426-4266, or to the charity of the donor’s choice. Condolences, memories and photos may be shared and viewed on Evelyn’s obituary at www.McInnisandHolloway.com.

The family thanks the staff of 911, East Kootenay Regional Hospital, and Foothills Medical Centre for their response and care of Evelyn. 

In living memory of Evelyn Gray, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McINNIS & HOLLOWAY FUNERAL HOMES, Crowfoot, 82 CROWFOOT CIRCLE NW, CALGARY, AB T3G 2T3, Telephone: 403-241-0044.