1931 – 2025
Beaufort
Richard Lee Gray, died Oct. 14, 2025 at his residence after a short illness. Employees and customers at Grayco Hardware on Lady’s Island have been well aware that the man who had been on hand to answer any question, fix any problem, and greet any customer was MIA and thus our hardware world has not been turning as it should have these past several weeks; his warm welcomes will now be consigned to our memories.
Born in Port Royal, S.C., in 1931 when Paris Avenue had four stores and four gas street lamps, Richard was one of the eight Gray children, most of whom lived in the Carolina Lowcountry their entire lives. None loved their community more or worked harder to contribute to its growth and safe keeping than Richard.
Throughout their youth, the Gray boys were occupied finding jobs to make their way and support their family: selling snacks to recruits at the train depot, running errands, and taking care of lawns. In their 20s, Richard and his brother Don went to the docks to try shrimping until Richard landed a job at the Parris Island Exchange and discovered retail was much more in his line. He had a great eye for quality and value, and that asset led him to the deal of a lifetime when he stopped working long enough to catch Joyce Gross’s eye and ask her to be his bride. Soon after the ask, they began their 63 very happy and fruitful years together.
Shortly after their wedding, Richard and Joyce went to their parents for $6,500 of seed money so that he could open a small auto supply store, which was the first of Richard’s many business ventures. In 1961, he expanded his operation and opened Beaufort Muffler and Auto Supply on Boundary Street. In the 70s, he expanded again with hardware items and another store on Hilton Head Island.
Always alert for new opportunities and ever ready to do the work necessary for success, Richard continued working and expanding throughout his long and productive life. At his death he leaves his family and his community seven thriving hardware, home furnishings, and lumber businesses employing 285 Lowcountry residents, and the Richard Gray Family Foundation supporting many varied and worthy community endeavors.
Throughout his business life, Richard believed in providing a helping hand whenever he could: selling items on time payments when that was what the customer needed, assisting young entrepreneurs to get up and running, and developing properties for new businesses when that is what was needed to get things underway. He and Joyce never forgot what it was like to build from the ground up and always remembered that the community they loved so well was the source of their business successes. Thus, Richard tirelessly shared his work ethic and business acumen with numerous business and educational boards over the years.
Richard was predeceased by his parents Evie Magahee Gray and Harold Bogan Gray Sr., his beloved wife Joyce, and his sister Barbara Ann Lubkin and brothers Harold Bogan Gray Jr., George Donald Gray, James Marion (Sammy) Gray, and William John (Matsy) Gray. He is survived by his sister Margaret Elizabeth (Linda) Cross, his brother Roy Delano Gray, his four children: Caroline Gray Bevon, Suzanne Gray Wilkie, Richard Lee Gray Jr., and Herbert Gross Gray (Marjorie), and his nine grandchildren: John Patrick Bevon, Caroline Qualey Bevon, Chandler Allen Burns (Sarah), Richard Lee Gray Ill, Madeleine Benson Gray, Kate Lawson Gray, Hope Chandler Gray, Herbert Trask Gray, and Marjorie Leith Gray. A service was to be held Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, at 1 p.m. at St. Helena’s Parish Church.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Habitat for Humanity and the Beaufort Memorial Hospital Foundation.
