Anne Lee Butler Gray | Eastern North Carolina Now

Born: October 7, 1919, Died: September 16, 2017

    Anne Butler Gray, 97, of Wilmington, N.C., passed away Sept. 16, 2017, at Davis Health Care in Wilmington, N.C. Anne will be remembered as a stylish dresser, world traveler, avid golfer, seasoned bridge player, amateur painter, devoted wife, mother and loyal friend.

    Born Oct. 7, 1919, in Durham, N.C., the daughter of Ellie Reeves Butler and John Christian Butler, Anne was an only child but had a large collection of friends and family in North Carolina where she returned to spend her later years.

    "Annie Lee" graduated from the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina in Greensboro in 1941 with a degree in business administration.

    She held a number of jobs after college including employment at the Gate City Building and Loan in Greensboro, Duke Hospital and Watts Hospital in Durham.

    Anne married her first husband, Peter Daniel Chabris, in 1946 and moved to New York City. While there, Anne was an admitting officer at St. Vincent's hospital where her first child and only daughter, Margaret Anne, was born.

    The couple had three other children: the late Thomas Louis Chabris, Paul Christian Chabris and John Peter Chabris The Chabris family moved often through the '50s and '60s with Anne raising her children in Agawam, Mass., Memphis, Tenn., Montclair and Upper Montclair N.J., Rochester, N.Y., and West Hartford, Conn.

    While in West Hartford, Anne volunteered at the Mark Twain House.

    Anne married her second husband, Arbor W. Gray, in 1981. The couple spent their golden years in Washington, N.C., where they were members of the Washington Country Club and the Washington, N.C. Friendship Force.

    Anne loved acting, starting at an early age. In the mid-1920s she was selected by the Morehead Grammar School principal and her first grade teacher to appear in the "Bohemian Girl," performed by a traveling theatrical company. The tour group needed a 6-year-old. Anne said it was such a thrill to be on the stage.

    In 1939, she received a certificate for being the "most dramatic girl" in her high school graduating class in Durham.

    In the 1950s, she was active in the Memphis Little Theater. While living in Washington, N.C., she performed with the town's Community Theater in "Steel Magnolias," "Laura" and took the lead in "Driving Miss Daisy." She also served as vice president, house manager and treasurer of that theater group.

    The novice actress had some "extra" parts in the television show "Dawson Creek" and the Hallmark Hall of Fame production of "What the Deaf Man Heard."

    It was in Washington that she pursued her love of painting, taking a few "honorable mention" prizes in local competitions.

    Anne and Arbor enjoyed spending their summers at Topsail Island, N.C, where Anne had been taking her children since their adolescence.

    Anne and Arbor fully retired in 1996 to Plantation Village in Wilmington, N.C., where Anne continued painting, golfing (winning numerous trophies), dancing (ballroom and line) and playing bridge. She also volunteered at a local elementary school as a mentor for an under-privileged youth, for which she received a certificate from the governor.

    Most of all, Anne had a passion for travel. She kept a list of the places she visited and memorable meetings while globe-trotting. They include:

• Flew in a two-seater airplane in 1936
• Crossed the New York City skyline in a helicopter
• Been to the top of the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, the Arc de Triomphe, the Cathedral in Milan, the Christ Statue in Rio de Janiero
• Took tar from Pitch Lake in Trinidad
• Swam in the Caribbean at the isle of Tobago
• Motorcycled around Lake Maggiore in Northern Italy
• Met Bishop Sheen on the steps of the Vatican and Dictator Fidel Castro in a Cuban restaurant
• Watched sheep getting sheered in New Zealand, poisonous snakes milked in Sao Paulo, fairy penguins come ashore at night near Melbourne, Australia, peeped into the top of an active volcano in Hawaii, walked the beach of Ipanema, saw the Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate and Check Point Charlie
• Ate raw fish in Holland, cruised on the Queen Elizabeth II, dined at the House of Parliament in London, sat in Winston Churchill's seat at the House of Commons, walked in the Grand Canyon and learned how to shoot a bow and arrow by a Cherokee.
• Anne had a strong sense of self and purpose. When she didn't like certain changes she spoke up, routed petitions and organized opposition groups, but all the while exhibiting southern charm and grace.

    When Arbor passed in 2011, Anne continued to be an active member of the Plantation Village community until a fall required her to move into nearby Davis Health Center, where she continued engaging fellow residents and impressing staff with her strong constitution.

    Through all her experiences - good, bad or sad, Anne maintained her optimism, her will to persevere and a twinkle in her clear-blue eyes.

    Anne is survived by daughter Margaret of Dallas, Texas; son Paul, daughter-in-law Dale Theriault Chabris and granddaughter Krista Anne Chabris of Midlothian, Va.; son John Chabris of Washington, N.C.; and two step- sons, Lindsey Gray of Disputanta, Va., and Warren Gray of Wilmington, N.C., numerous other relatives and friends.

    Funeral services will be held at 2 pm Friday, Sept. 22, at Paul Funeral Home & Crematory in Washington, N.C.

    In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in the name of Anne B. Gray to the Artisan House at Davis Health Care, 1011 Porters Neck Road, Wilmington, N.C. 28411.

    Online condolences may be made at www.paulfuneralhome.com.

    Paul Funeral Home & Crematory of Washington is honored to serve the Gray family.