Janis Sylvia Gray

Janis Sylvia Gray, 70, of Shutesbury, died April 5, 2025 at home attended by her daughter and husband. She is the daughter of the late Philip M. and Gloria (Hammersley) Gray of Portland, Ore. She was born Nov. 27, 1954 in Portland. She is survived by her husband Patrick J. Callahan of Shutesbury and her daughter Rosemary S. Callahan-Gray of Weymouth along with several cousins. Janis and Patrick were married on May 1, 1982. Janis was an editor, writer, reporter and columnist, town official, and active member of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst (UUSA). She was a lifetime animal lover and kept and cared for horses, a dog and numerous cats in her lifetime. She attended public schools in Portland, graduated from Lincoln High School in 1973, Pomona College in 1977 and earned a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University in 1978. She worked as an intern at The Oregonian in Portland and after graduating from Columbia worked at the Patterson Evening News [N.J.], the Westfield Evening News [Mass.], The Amherst Record, The Amherst News [cooperative paper in Amherst] and was a columnist for the weekly Amherst Bulletin. She was a senior editor at the Channing L. Bete company in Deerfield and began a career as a freelance writer after the birth of her daughter Rosemary in 1989. She created Rowan Tree Editorial Services and worked for several fundraising firms. She also was the editor of the newsletter for the UUSA for many years. She was the longtime editor of the Our Town newsletter for the town of Shutesbury. Most recently she was a member of the town’s Council on Aging, served previously on the Conservation Commission and on the 250th Anniversary Commission. She was a volunteer at the M.N. Spear Library for many years and was active in the successful effort to fund and build a new town library. Beginning in the early 1990s she was an active member of the UUSA serving as president, vice president, member of numerous committees and a key member and chair of the committee that oversaw the renovation and repair the church’s Louis C. Tiffany stained-glass window, the Angel of the Lillies. She said of the year’s long effort, “I believe this is the most important thing I have ever done.” The window is located on the west side of the building facing North Pleasant Street. After growing up in the city of Portland, she adapted to life in more rural western Massachusetts where she helped build a barn and kept several horses at her Shutesbury home. She also created and kept a large vegetable and flower garden for many years. Burial will be private. A celebration of Janis’ life will be held in the future at the Unitarian Meeting House in Amherst. Details are to be worked out. In lieu of flowers, Janis requested that donations be made to the Friends of the M.N. Spear Library, P.O. Box 256, Shutesbury, Ma. 01072, or the Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst, P.O. Box 502, Amherst, Ma. 01004.