Barbara Mcgee (Donoho) Gray

Barbara Gray, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. E. H. Donoho and younger sister of Shirley Donoho, was born November 25, 1928, in Dixon, Illinois. She died of the effects of Alzheimer's disease and cancer February 27, 2020, in Santa Rosa, California, at the age of 91. Barbara grew up in Dixon and in the American southwest, where she met and married George McGee, who was stationed at Walker Air Force Base in New Mexico. They moved their growing family to California in 1948 and to Petaluma in 1953. George died in 1972, and Barbara married Dick Gray in 1989. Dick died in 2006 after a long illness, and Barbara continued to live on the Roblar Road ranch she loved until declining health forced her to move to Santa Rosa in 2012. An early graduate of Sonoma State, Barbara taught at Grant Elementary School in Petaluma through most of the 1970s and 80s. She was an avid gardener and a life-long learner and reader. She was very intelligent and quick-witted and had a beautiful alto voice. She was a soloist in the choir of the First Baptist Church of Petaluma, where she attended for many years before joining Hessel Union Church. She loved children, dogs, coffee, the piano, Dutch Belted cows, Sinatra, Garland, Streisand, roses, and the color red, but it had to be "real red." She deplored the politics of selfishness and exclusion. She was a kind and loyal friend to many, and the charity she practiced throughout her life as a solemn obligation of love seemed sometimes to exceed her means. She was an inspiration to her children, for whom she was always prepared to sacrifice anything. Barbara is survived and loved by her six children, Terry (Barbara) McGee, Rick (Diane) McGee, Bonnie (Terry) McKenna, Rob McGee, Nancy (Eddie) Walker, and Suzanne McGee, 16 grandchildren, and 23 great grandchildren. The family is deeply grateful to Paul Wood, Mary Jo Miller, Jane Torres, Tsering Dhargye, Lutu Vakaloloma, Maria Sierra de Avila, and Memorial Hospice for their friendship, love, and care for Barbara through her illness. A private interment will be in Cypress Hill Memorial Park in Petaluma. The family suggests memorial contributions to the Alzheimer's Association.