Claire (Totten) Gray

CORNWALL — Claire (Totten) Gray died peacefully at her home in Fairhope, Ala., on April 5, 2014, at 100 years of age. She was born in Bowman, N.D., on May 24, 1913. Her parents were Thomas Joseph Edward Parker Totten, a lawyer and actor, and Lillian Violet Blick Totten. The family, searching for a warmer and progressive community, moved in October 1919 to Fairhope for its newly established Henry George Single Tax Colony and most particularly for The School of Organic Education, founded and directed by Marietta Johnson. All five of their children attended the Organic School, during its prime, under the educational leadership of Johnson, who fostered individual growth, arts and crafts, folk dancing and team spirit rather than competition. “The Judge” and Lillian became intellectual leaders of the community, especially at their regular Sunday breakfasts, hosting Clarence Darrow, among other notables. The school’s principles, as well as their parents’ interests, had a profound effect on all their lives.Claire Totten graduated from The Organic School in 1931 and began a post-graduate teachers training under Johnson, and attended Daphne State Teachers College. She left Alabama to perform English country folk dances with other Organic graduates at the Shakespeare Globe Theatre for the San Diego World’s Fair in 1934.In 1938, Claire married Judson Clark Gray, who had been a teacher at The Organic School, and they lived in New Haven, Conn., with his parents. They had twin daughters, Nancy Clark (Gray) Calhoun of Cornwall and Christine Belknap Gray of Roseland, Va. When Judson returned from the war in Europe, they settled in Louisville, Ky., where Judson took a teaching position at the University of Louisville, and where his family, the William Belknaps, had established Belknap Hardware, a very successful enterprise that had supplied nails and other hardware to the covered wagons heading West. Claire and Judson had two sons while in Louisville, Parker Totten Gray of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada and Fairhope, and Benjamin Silliman Gray of Cornwall. The family summered for many years at Yelping Hill in West Cornwall.While the family lived in Louisville, Claire Gray was very active in the United World Federalists, the League of Women Voters and Planned Parenthood, as well as entertaining university dignitaries. The family moved to Europe with their four children, where Judson researched material for his Ph.D. in sociology. On their return in 1961 they settled in Winter Park, Fla., where Judson taught at Rollins College. Claire Gray returned to her hometown of Fairhope in 1975 and became very active in real estate and the Unitarian Church. Claire inherited a love of nature and flowers from her mother, Lillian, who had sold her large azaleas to Bellingrath Gardens outside of Mobile, when Bellingrath was getting established. Claire was known for her flowers, especially camellias, and her habit of distributing hundreds of blooms to her many friends, as well as for hosting her famous parties.In addition to her four children, Claire Totten Gray leaves 11 grandchildren; four great-grand children; and her younger brother, Don Edward Totten of North Englewood, Fla., and Clarion, Pa.