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Submitted by: Jo Aguirre
Billy Ray “Bill” Gregory, 84, of Shawnee, Oklahoma passed away Monday, November 4, 2019 in Shawnee.
He was born in a tent on December 13, 1934 in an oil camp in Snomac, Oklahoma located in Seminole County to Brown and Hazel (Duggans) Gregory.
Bill was raised in Holdenville, Oklahoma and moved with his family to Tecumseh in 1953. He graduated with the class of 1955 from Tecumseh High School, where he was in track, played football, baseball, basketball and served as captain of the Basketball Team.
He married Carolyn Hembree the mother of his children and they were married for 38 years. He later married Bernice Kersey and they were married for 23 years until her death on November 1, 2018.
After high school he worked in the oilfields in Colorado and Ft. Worth, Texas. He later worked in the tooling department at NASA in Seal Beach, California for 9 years. In the 1960’s he moved back to Oklahoma and settled in Oklahoma City going to work for Scrivner Food Company in the warehouse for 27 years. He moved to Shawnee in 1979 where he has since lived.
Bill was a member of Northridge Church of Christ in Shawnee. He was an avid golfer and an accomplished artist.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Bernice Gregory; parents, Brown and Hazel Gregory; 1 brother, Louis Gregory; and 2 sisters, Jean Edwards and Jessie Harris.
Survivors include 1 son and daughter-in-law, Billy Ray, Jr. and Danette Gregory of Oklahoma City, OK; 2 daughters and 1 son-in-law, Sharon Gayler of Wyandotte, OK and Dana and Troyce King of Shawnee, OK; 6 grandchildren, Brian Gregory, Kevin Gregory, Matthew Gayler, Sarah Gayler, Reagan King and Lauren King; 6 great-grandchildren, Sayda Thomason, Zachary McCage, Emily Gayler, Jacob Gayler, Justin Cole and Lucas Cole; 2 brothers and 2 sisters-in-law, Jim and Shirely Gregory of Shawnee, OK and Don and Julia Gregory of Kimball, NE; and many loving friends and extended family.
Visitation will be from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Thursday, November 7, 2019 and continue through service time. Family gathering to greet friends and family will be from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., at Cooper Funeral Home. Services will be 10:00 a.m., Friday, November 8, 2019 at Cooper Funeral Home Chapel with Jody Jones, Mission Road Church of Christ and Thurman Edwards officiating. Burial will follow at Tecumseh Cemetery under the direction of Cooper Funeral Home of Tecumseh.