Obituary of Joscelyne Gray

Joscelyne Tara Gray, a recent resident of Castle Rock, Colorado and formerly of Monroe, Washington passed away peacefully on December 31, 2020 at UCHealth Aurora from complications of ovarian cancer at the age of 43.  Originally diagnosed just three years prior, Joscelyne was optimistic she would beat the odds and defy cancer’s path right up to the very end.

 

Joscelyne was born on July 20, 1977 in Lafayette, Indiana to Roger D. Gray and Cheryl A. Gray (Porter) and grew up in Lafayette where she developed many life-long friendships. At a young age, her love and talents in singing, swimming, art, fashion and travel blossomed. Joscelyne excelled in academics and originally considered medical school but learned her true passions lay elsewhere. Joscelyne ultimately earned her bachelor’s degree from Purdue University and MBA with a focus in Human Resources from Krannert School of Management at Purdue.

 

In 2009 she met her spouse (Marie; surviving) at Microsoft when they were co-workers in Human Resources.  Later, they officially married in April 2013.  Until her recent move to CO to live full-time with her father and stepmother, she lived in Monroe, WA and enjoyed her beach-view vacation home in Coupeville, WA where she and Marie often gathered with their writer friends.  Jos loved the water everywhere she went! Together with Marie, she raised her two stepsons from the ages of 2 and 4 and they adored and loved her so much. She was an amazing mom, always willing to help with math homework or teach a cooking lesson, and her sons will miss her for life.

 

Joscelyne enjoyed an extremely successful and fruitful career that she took the highest amount of pride in.  Most recently, she was the Director of Compensation for Oracle.  Her career took her from GE, to Microsoft, to Intellectual Ventures, to Redfin, to Juno Therapeutics (where, as a bio-tech, the company did a gorgeous video highlighting her cancer journey), and then last, to Oracle.  She loved what she did at each position with passion and commitment and moved swiftly into new and higher levels of responsibility everywhere she worked.  Always respected by co-workers, managers, and clients she had a knack for creating innovative ways to get work done and inspired others to do the same.  She will be missed by so many people who had the privilege to work with her over the years.

 

Joscelyne loved life and lived it to the fullest. Relationships with both family and friends, singing, swimming, cooking & entertaining, writing, travel, and competing as a triathlete only touch the surface of the depth of things she excelled at and engaged in with intensity. She was tireless, optimistic, hopeful, and determined to live a long life with cancer because she had so many dreams she was determined to fulfill. Her countless friends and family admired her greatly for that tenacity - the same tenacity she put into everything she ever did from training for an ironman, to doing two-mile open water swims, to maintaining great friendships, to being extraordinarily successful at work.

 

Joscelyne took so much pride in her gorgeous singing ability, an ability she grew and cultivated over 25 years. She was a dedicated and phenomenal renaissance dark-voiced soprano in countless top-tier choirs in IN, CO, and WA and leaves behind so many lives she touched through her dedication to the craft of singing. Jos was committed to everything she did – from work, to choir, to athletics, to writing, to friends to family – and she was relentlessly optimistic through it all.

 

She could make up new cocktails and recipes always on instinct and they were always amazing. She hated yardwork but would happily mow the lawn. She loved to write and had successfully published one short fiction piece and was actively working on revisions for a full-length Hollywood-inspired novel.  Recently, she also reignited her passion for painting and drawing after a long hiatus and created many beautiful pieces. Jos could Goodwill shop like no one else, emerging from a dressing room with an armload of clothes and constantly filling her closet with bargain finds.  She loved playing Craps at the casino and spent countless hours studying strategies for the best ways to win.  She loved tarot cards, reading and studying Buddhism and Christianity, astrology, fiction, and studying the "craft" of anything. She enjoyed creating new food and cocktail recipes and loved making her new creations for family and friends, especially if those creations included seafood or paired with seafood! Joscelyne took up and mastered many water sports including paddle boarding and scuba. She also had a deep love for Agnes Moorhead and other mid-twentieth century actors and old Hollywood in general and would follow Agnes fan-fiction boards religiously. She could be known to make beautiful lists and notes, journal with flair and pizazz, play Candy Crush with fervor, enthusiastically take her sons skiing, and could often be spotted drinking a good IPA. She was fiery, independent, determined, wicked smart, and beautifully sweet. She always had a theory for anything which was endearing. She adored her dog, Walter (pug) and the countless cats and reptiles she owned through the years.

 

Jos treasured the experiences of travel and had so many dreams of places she wanted to go - her bookshelves were always filled with books on new places she hoped to travel (her last international trip was to France and Portugal in 2019).  Her last planned trip, a cruise around the Argentinian horn, had to unfortunately be cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak and her worsening health conditions but she held out hope she could travel again until the very end of her life. She was fortunate to be able to own and use a loft in Kansas City on and off for a year as an art studio and outlet for her love of travel. 

 

In both her personal and professional life, she continues to be an inspiration to all who knew her. We will always remember her infectious smile, engaging blue eyes, and caring personality. We all loved her so much and her presence in our lives will be so missed but we know that her memory will carry on in the lives of so many people.

 

Joscelyne is survived by her parents, Cheryl Gray of Lafayette, Indiana and Roger (Susan) Gray of Castle Rock, Colorado, brother Ryan Gray of Lafayette, Indiana, and her spouse Marie Hartung and two stepsons, Jack Hartung-Larrabee and Jasper Hartung-Larrabee of Monroe, Washington. She is also survived by her stepsister Shiloh (John) Hamon of Paso Robles, California and many cousins, aunts, and an uncle.

 

A Celebration of Life is being planned for July 2021 in Colorado as well as one in Washington State.

 

Please consider a donation to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, Inc.

 https://www.cancerresearch.org, or honor Joscelyne with a thoughtful donation to an organization she felt compassionately about. Even an act of kindness to another person or animal as we remember her and carry her torch forward.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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