Thomas Allen Gray, age, 71, of Florence, passed away Saturday, December 9, 2023. A memorial visitation will be Friday, December 15th from 6:00 pm until 9:00 pm at Williams Funeral Home of Florence.
He was preceded in death by his parents, William Warren, Sr., and Sara Jo Hubbard Gray; brother, William “Bill” Warren Gray, Jr.
Survivors are his wife, Pamela Landrum Darby-Gray; children, Gina Gray Stout and Dustin Darby; sister-in-law, Sara Jo Gray; grandchildren, Colby Jackson Stout; son-in-law, Robert Kenneth Stout, Jr.; nephews, William and Preston Gray.
Al began his career with the United States Postal Service as a postal carrier for the Florence Post Office when he was 21 years old, and he retired after 40 years of faithful service. In 1997, while fulfilling his carrier duties, he was elected Branch President of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 892. For 26 years, he served the office faithfully, fighting for carrier’s rights with an unwavering determination to see justice prevail. Al also proudly served as Alabama State President of the NALC from 2004-2009.
He was a steadfast Alabama football fan and never missed the chance to talk about how “the Tide rolled” over the weekend! He was a wealth of knowledge about all things and could give a jeopardy contestant a run for their money if ever given the chance. His favorite feeling in the world was the warm ocean breeze and the sand between his toes. If he could not get to a beach, he’d find his peace pulling weeds from his garden of peppers and tomatoes getting them ready to make the perfect batch of summer salsa. As soon as the weather turned chilly, Al would crank up the Christmas music, turn on the 1930’s version of A Christmas Carol, pull out every single one of his 1000’s of Santa’s from his collection (Well, the ones that weren’t already on the display that he kept out year-round), and begin to trim the tree with hundreds of sparkling lights and shiny ornaments.
The sparkle of an ocean sunset, the roar of “Yea Alabama” after an Iron Bowl win, and the glow of the Christmas star paled in comparison to the twinkle in Al’s blue eyes when he talked about his family and friends. He was an amazing, wonderful husband, a devoted father, a loving Poppi, and a devoted friend. While Al will be missed by many, we all know that this is just “See ya later”.
In-lieu of flowers, please mail donations to NALC, Branch 892 MDA in memory of Allen Gray 116 Courtview Towers, Florence, Al. 35630.
