Mary Grey, 84, of Grinnell, passed away on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 at UnityPoint Grinnell Regional Medical Center. Smith Funeral Home and Crematory is assisting the family with cremation and no services will be held.

Mary Virginia Wellman was born on September 17, 1941 to Sidney and Virginia Hartman Wellman in Portsmouth, Virginia. She attended elementary and secondary schools in Portsmouth. She received her BA from Randolph Macon Women’s College in 1963. She received her MLS at The University of Iowa in 1970. For most of her career she was a media specialist at the Grinnell Middle School.

Mary was united in marriage to Robert Daniel Grey on June 27, 1963, in Portsmouth, Virginia. After several years of living in Connecticut and elsewhere, she and Bob moved to Grinnell in 1968.

One of Mary’s many passions was traveling, in the United States and abroad. She was a voracious reader, and she loved scuba diving. When her children (Nathan, 1972 and Celia, 1973) were born, she became an enthusiastic mother. The birth of her triplet grandchildren in 2008 led her to move to North Carolina for two years to help raise them. She repeated the process in 2013 with the birth of her fourth grandchild. Mary and Bob spent many summers with them. She also spent much time visiting with friends, who considered her warm and sympathetic. She will be sorely missed.

Mary is survived by her husband of 63 years, Robert Grey of Grinnell; her son, Nathan Grey of Arvada, Colorado; her daughter and son-in-law Celia and William Visser of Raleigh, North Carolina and their children, Alexander, Madeline, Claire and Avenir. She was preceded in death by her parents.