Shon Mikel Gray, 46, of Manhattan, passed away peacefully in his sleep on April 16, 2021.
Shon was born April 8, 1975, in Butte, MT. That day the headline of The Montana Standard read, “Montana Digs Out Waits for More Snow.”
Shon lived in Butte until 1980 when his family moved to Goldendale, WA for 1 ½ years. In 1981, the family moved back to Montana and settled in Great Falls. Shon attended Whittier and Lincoln Elementary and East Junior High. He graduated from Great Falls High in 1993.
In 1996 he moved to Torrance, CA. While there he worked at the YMCA, Yesterday, Best Buy, Activision, Cap Com, ECost, MySpace, Konami, and Jet Blue. Everywhere he worked he met good people who became good friends. Many of the people became friends for life.
In October of 2015, he returned to Montana with his favorite feline friends, Momo and Mauki. While in the Gallatin Valley, he worked at Casey’s Corner, Fish Wildlife & Parks, and the Yellowstone Jet Center. When he started at Signature Air, he realized how much he had missed planes. He loved the job and really loved the people he worked with.
He always wanted people to be kind to each other and to animals.
Shon is survived by his mother, Colette Gray and his friend and confidant, Charles Scanlan; his brother, Nic Gray (Nicole Rattray); nephew, Gavin; niece, Haylee of Great Falls; brother, Jon of Missoula; grandmother, Bev Clayton; aunts, Darlene Jaeger, Sandra Bryan, and Carol Bronec; and Uncle Randy Clayton. He is also survived by his biological father, Ray Gifford and stepfather, Al Gray.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the Heart of the Valley for a bench in the dog park would be appreciated.
Shon will be greatly missed by many. I hope your neck and knees are healed and you are skateboarding in Heaven.
As unfortunate as it seems, life continues for us, and Shon would ask us not to be “jerky jerks”. Live gratefully! Be grateful for each and every day!
A Celebration of Life will be held on May 15, 2021, at 11:00 A.M. at the Yellowstone Jet Center, 456 Wings Way, Belgrade.
Arrangements are in the care of Dokken-Nelson Funeral Service. www.dokkennelson.com [dokkennelson.com]
