Grayson Kreilick, 58, was a devoted husband and father, who passed away on December 31, 2024, with his family by his side.
Gray was born on Ft. Eustis Army Base, and grew up in Newport News, VA. He graduated from Denbigh High School in 1984 and attended Thomas Nelson Community College. He was married to his wife, Kelly, for 26 out of their 34 years together, as they built their family here.
He was employed by Goodwill Industries for eleven years, for which he had a deep passion and inspired all of those who came to work with him. Though recently retired, Gray was just as hard-working and creative at home, developing new talents for cooking and home improvement projects. He was a motorcycle and gun enthusiast and a lifelong music lover with tastes ranging from Black Sabbath to Bob Marley to Dave Matthews. Grayson was passionate about literature and poetry, being an amateur writer in the past.
His family would like to share a piece on his behalf, titled Epitaph, by Merrit Malloy:
When I die,
Give what’s left of me away
To children
And to old men that wait to die.
And if you need to cry,
Cry for your brother
Walking the street beside you.
And when you need me,
Put your arms
Around anyone
And give them
What you need to give me.
I want to leave you something,
Something better
Than words
Or sounds.
Look for me
In the people I’ve known
Or loved,
And if you cannot give me away,
At least let me live on in your eyes
And not your mind.
You can love me most
By letting
Hands touch hands,
By letting bodies touch bodies,
And by letting go
Of children
That need to be free.
Love doesn’t die,
People do.
So, when all that’s left of me
Is love,
Give me away.
Gray is survived by his loving wife, Kelly; his son, Nathan; his daughter, Madison and cousin, Kenneth. He enjoyed being a grandfather to Wyatt, Olivia, and Cassandra.
No Formal Services are scheduled at this time.
