Gay Crews Brinkley

Nov. 7, 1934 - Sept. 28, 2013 Gay Crews Brinkley, 78, of Mooresville, passed away on Saturday, September 28, 2013. She was born on Nov. 7, 1934 in Iredell County, the only daughter of the late Stamie W. and Bessie Morgan Crews. Her family moved often but one afternoon in Goldsboro, a young man named Herman Brinkley Jr. was selling Olan Mills vouchers door to door. The day was hot and Gay offered him a glass of tea on the porch. He fell in love with her and they were wed about a year later on December 23, 1954. They had four children together: Daniel Brinkley, Jan Brinkley, Steve Brinkley, and Darrell, who passed away as an infant. She was truly the heart and head of our family, praying and fretting over this ragtag bunch of Brinkley’s. We are not a perfect family, but she was proud of each and every one of us. Her memory lives on in the hearts of her husband, Herman Brinkley Jr.; sons, Daniel Herman Brinkley of Sparta and Victor Stephen Brinkley of Charlotte; daughter, Jan Brinkley of Mooresville; five grandchildren, Shiloh Jones Holland, Jessica Maria Brinkley, James Lee Brinkley, Christopher William Brinkley and Stephen; and two great-grandchildren, Triston and Skye Briggs. She was preceded in death by her son, William Darrell Brinkley; and three brothers, Bobby, Jack and Vic Crews. The family will meet in the Troutman Funeral Home Chapel at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013 and proceed to Mimosa Cemetery in Davidson for a 2:00 p.m. graveside service with the Rev. David Troutman officiating. Memorials may be made to Fallstown Baptist Church, 242 State Park Rd., Troutman, NC 28166.