Mary Bowers Bray

BRAY, Mary

Mary Bowers Bray died at home Wednesday, September 15, 2004.  The daughter of Lloyd Guyton Bowers and Lucy Hill, Mrs. Bray was born in Columbus, GA July 20, 1915.  She attended Columbus High School, then Sophie Newcomb College in New Orleans where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma.  Later, she studied at the Art Student?s League in New York City.  During WWII, she volunteered as a nurse?s aid in the Nurse?s Aid Corps of the American National Red Cross.  After the war, she joined the Junior League of Columbus and served as its president.  In 1948 she married Sims Bray and moved to Atlanta, where she raised three children and continued to do volunteer work for Piedmont Hospital and the High Museum of Art.  She was also a member of the Colonial Dames of America, the Junior League of Atlanta, the Mimosa Garden Club and a founding trustee of the Atlanta Botanical Garden.  Painting and gardening were her two great interests.  She was a respected artist and kept a formal garden at home. She is survived by her three children, Mary Downing Bray, Sims Bray Jr. and his wife Laurie, Lloyd Bowers Bray and his wife Pam, all of Atlanta; four granddaughters, Katherine Robinson Bray, Downing Bowers Bray, Elizabeth Bowers Bray and Julia Adams Bray; and her sister, Janet Bowers Hollis of Columbus. Graveside services will be held Saturday, 1 p.m. at Westview Cemetery. The Rev. Geoffrey Hoare will officiate. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Atlanta Botanical Garden, 1345 Piedmont Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30309.  The family will receive friends from 11 a.m. to 12 Noon Saturday at 1675 Pembroke Place, Atlanta, GA, 30309. A. S. Turner & Sons