Brooke Florence Gray (Riddell)

Obituary

Passed on

 Brooke Florence Gray (Riddell) passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 14, 2025 at the age of 85. She was born and raised on the family farm in Warren, Manitoba. Brooke is survived by her sons Dale (Laurie) and Terry; daughters, Susan McRae (Terry), Sherry Barnes (Dave) and Cathy Gray (Scott). Also mourning her loss are her grandchildren, (Dale) Sean, Micheal, Christopher; (Susan) Brian, Julie; (Terry) MacKenzie, Kennedy; (Sherry) Owen, Cole; (Cathy) Charlize, Riley. She leaves behind a great-grandson (Julie) Parker and a great-granddaughter (Sean) Artis.

 Brooke was predeceased by her brother Bob Riddell and sister Lee Sutherland. She also leaves to mourn, her brothers Jim Riddell and Chris (Helen) Riddell, Gordie (Donna) Riddell and many nieces and nephews. Mom married Jim Gray in 1961 and graduated as an RN from the Grace Hospital school of nursing. The next 35 years she spent caring for others in hospitals across Ontario and Manitoba.

During her marriage to Jim, the family moved throughout Ontario and Manitoba. Her favourite place was the orchard just outside of St. George. With dad constantly traveling, she managed 5 small children and a busy orchard operation. The work load eventually became too much so they decided to sell and move on and on and on. Mom was a bit of a rolling stone that liked to move every couple of years. She was always customizing and modifying her furniture to make it suit her homes. She loved cooking and entertaining family. She taught us all the importance of sitting around a table sharing and celebrating a meal together. She was not a fan of buffets! She made the absolute best buns. She also introduced us to white sugar…. on and in everything!

 Mom’s greatest love was for her 11 grandchildren. She was a “get down on the floor and play” kind of grandmother. Whether it was building forts out of boxes, making rafts out of wooden pallets or just playing games, she will be greatly missed by all of them. When something didn’t taste good she’d go to her cake decorating drawer and pull out a bottle of coloured sprinkles to toss on anything that didn’t taste good. Her grandchildren had no trouble eating after that.

 Mom loved to sing and was a member of several choirs. She loved music and dancing and watching live baseball games. She was up to travel anywhere in the world. If it was by bus, even better! She danced to her own beat and didn’t care much about what others thought. She is now in the hands of our maker and she’s finally settled. We are honoured to be your kids mom and we love you very much.

Internment is planned for August. 

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