Sonya F. Gray, 89, a retired Providence Journal news reporter, died March 17. She was born on May 17, 1934, in Bronxville, N.Y., daughter of the late Albert Woodruff Gray and Willa Coplin Gray, and sister of the late Willa Gray Swanson.
Sonya graduated from the High School of Performing Arts in Manhattan, majoring in dance. As a member of the May O’Donnell Company, she took part in the 1953 Modern Dance Festival at the Alvin Theatre on Broadway. Also on the program were the Martha Graham and Jose Limon dance companies. Sonya graduated from the University of Michigan in 1957. While in college, Sonya took part in an American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) summer work camp in Crownpoint, New Mexico, helping to build a community house on the Navajo Reservation there. After graduation from college, she was sponsored by the AFSC at an international summer work camp near Volos, Greece. Sonya went on to work briefly as a psychiatric social worker in Ypsilanti State Hospital in Michigan and then attended graduate school for a year at the University of Michigan, studying journalism. She joined the Providence Journal staff in 1960 and retired in 1996. Among her assignments were reporting on cops, robbers, politics, municipal government, and consumer news, as well as writing editorials, op-ed pieces, and investigative stories. When Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1980, Sonya wrote about her volunteer work at one of Mother Teresa’s orphanages near New Delhi, India. In 1995, Sonya began to play the violin. She was a member of the first violin section of the South County Chamber Orchestra and the Providence Adult String Ensemble. Sonya had an avid interest in gardening, and in 1998 she won first place as an amateur gardener in Rhode Island Monthly magazine for the design of the garden at her home in Providence. Her companions over the years were her beloved dogs. She was a member of the First Unitarian Church of Providence. She leaves a family of friends.
A memorial service will be held on May 18 at 3:00 at the First Unitarian Church, One Benevolent Street, Providence, R.I. Gifts in her memory may be made to Ruffin’ Wranglers dog care service in Providence, First Unitarian Church of Providence, or a charity of your choice.