A Tribute to Judith Gray: Student, Course Leader & Designer, and Past President
Fall 2024
On May 9, 2024, TMI past president Judith Gray passed away peacefully at 85 years old. Judith is remembered fondly as a brilliant woman known for her generosity, curiosity, and wit.
Born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Judith was the daughter of a working-class family from Scotland. She obtained her nursing degree from Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, where she was valedictorian of her class.
In the late 1950s, she married Ian Gray, with whom she had two children, Katy and Glenn (d. 1981). While in Toronto, Judith worked at the Toronto Psychiatric Hospital.
When Ian was transferred to Montreal, Judith became the coordinator of nurse training at Vanier College. She started to take courses at the Thomas More Institute shortly thereafter, seeking an outlet for her curiosity and intellect. In 1980, Judith earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree at Bishop’s University through TMI. After graduation she became involved in the production of courses. In 1981 she took part in a TMI course on “Health, Well-Being, and Sanity” offered once a week during lunch hour at the Royal Bank Auditorium in Place Ville Marie. She designed and/or led in dozens of courses at TMI, such as “Freud and Women” (1989), “Stalking the Human Good” (1994), “Meeting/À la rencontre de Bernard Lonergan” (2000), and “Gertrude and Alice–The Fiction of Autobiography” (1911).
Judith and Ian fell in love with the peace and beauty of the Eastern Townships. They eventually purchased a home in Foster, Québec, close to Knowlton, on 60 acres of woods. With retirement, they moved permanently to their beloved home in the country, but Judith remained involved at TMI, despite the distance.
In 2003, when she heard the Search Committee was having trouble finding a new president to replace Eileen de Neeve, Judith volunteered. “She was the type of person to see a need and to step up and offer help,” comments Anne Fitzpatrick, who was Board Chair at the time. “Everyone liked Judith; she didn’t stand on ceremony, and she had a way of making things better.” Barbara Rolston, who worked at TMI during Judith’s term (2003-06), considers Judith as among TMI’s finest presidents. “She was so upbeat, so curious. It was a fun time.” Being president wasn’t just about administration for Judith. She understood the mission of the Institute and encouraged every aspect of its work, from fundraising to course design. Judith came into office when some tension existed, and she was able to lighten the atmosphere. She clarified roles, letting staff know exactly what she needed of them. Diane Moreau, who also worked at TMI at this time, describes her as “courageous and gutsy.” She was “a straight shooter” who “always told the truth” and who found a way to do so diplomatically, often making use of her sharp wit and fine sense of humour.
Judith came into her own at TMI. The Institute provided a place where she could pursue her passions, engage her mind, and explore ideas where they led her. Diane Moreau notes that she had an exceptional talent for “mining a text.” Anne Fitzpatrick tells me she designed “wonderful courses.” Daniel Schouela, member of the TMI Board, speaks of her “warmth, humour, and probing intelligence.” “I really appreciated her passionate approach to [the Institute’s] commitment to shared inquiry,” he tells me. In 2005, on the occasion of the celebration of TMI’s 60th Anniversary, Judith said this about the institute: “[The majority of students at TMI] come to share their own burning desires with other questioning souls. This method can be truly called lifelong learning because it leads to no definite conclusions but over and over again helps us to use the insights that arise through our reading/discussion to change our minds, read more deeply, listen with attention and cherish the curiosity we make central to our lives.” Judith understood the mission of TMI because she found it incarnated in herself.
Judith’s family will celebrate her life in a private ceremony to take place in late summer. In accordance with her wishes, they will travel to Canmore, Alberta to scatter her ashes at the grave of Judith and Ian’s son Glenn, who died there in a mountain climbing accident at the age of 21.