Bonnie Leigh Gray died unexpectedly on May 18, in the home that she shared with her partner and wife, Jessica Carter, in Nottingham, Md. She was born on June 6, 1963, to Norma and Charles Preusser in New Rochelle, N.Y.

She grew up in Newtown and was adopted by John Gray when her mother remarried. Her grandmother Elsa Zinser played an important role in her young life. Ms Gray graduated from Newtown High School in 1981. After high school, she moved to Baltimore where she attended Goucher College earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1985. She later earned advanced degrees from the College of Notre Dame in Baltimore and the Tai Sophia Institute.

After college, Ms Gray moved to Guam to live with her sister Christine and her brother-in-law Jeffrey Wagner, to help with their young children, Adriane and Rebecca. In Guam, she worked at the Hilton International Hotel as a pastry sous chef. This is where her love of food and cooking began. After returning to the United States, Ms Gray enrolled in the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vt. Her love of cooking continued, as she moved back to Baltimore and worked in various restaurants: Au Bon Pain, the Lord Baltimore, Jeannier's Restaurant, the Green Spring Inn, and the Historic Inns of Annapolis.

In the 1990s she taught culinary classes at the Baltimore International Culinary Institute. She loved teaching. After BICI, Ms Gray taught for several years at Parkville High School, as chair of the foods and nutrition program, and later served as the math, science, and computer science magnet program coordinator. For the last few years, she taught at Towson High School as a school to career coordinator.

Ms Gray loved plants, herbs, flowers, trees, kitties, horror movies, the Sunday comics, long hot baths, massages by Sylvia, fireflies in June, afternoon naps, Jameson's Irish Whiskey, spiders, "faux" Thanksgiving, "Mom's pancakes," baking spinach rosemary bread, and cooking for her family.

Her partner and wife of 24 years, Jessica Carter; her dear mother, Norma H. Gray; her siblings, Christine Wagner and husband Jeffrey, Peter Ruffier and wife Lori, Charlene Picard, and Alan Preusser; many nieces and nephews; six grandnieces and grandnephews; and her beloved 19-year-old cat survive her.

Loved ones remember many of Ms Gray's words, including: "Kiss on head," "There is always time to listen to the children," "There is always time to be nice to people and animals," and "Messy hair, don't care."

A memorial service to celebrate Ms Gray's life will be conducted on Saturday, June 3, at 10 am, at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 1131 Mace Avenue, Essex, Md., with the Reverend Joshua Rodriquez-Hobbs officiating.

Donations in Ms Gray's honor can be made to Cat Rescue of Maryland (CROM) 6400 Baltimore National Pike, Catonsville, MD 21228 and at catrescueofmd.org; or to Maryland Food Bank, 2200 Halethorpe Farms Road, Baltimore MD 21227 and at mdfoodbank.org.