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Melba Louise Gray (née Foster), of Livingston, TX, was born on March 26, 1946, in DeQuincy, LA.

She passed away at 4:30 p.m. on October 19, 2023, in Kingwood, TX, after a two-year battle with aggressive metastatic cancer.

She was a previous breast cancer survivor of 28 years. Melba was 77 years old.

Melba grew up in Starks, LA, and in 1964, triumphantly ended her high school career at Starks High School, having been voted Most Beautiful and Most Athletic.

Melba was known throughout her life for many things: her gardening, her cooking, and, most of all, her generous spirit.

Sure, she’d give you the shirt off her back, but she’d much rather slide a plate of Cajun comfort food in front of you.

She took pride in decorating her various homes throughout the years, where her front door and arms were always open.

She never met a stranger and was a “momma” or “Miss Melba” to many.

If we know anything about Melba, it’s that she’s surely cookin’ gumbo for the Lord and all those who preceded her in death: first husband, Myron Mitchell Gray; parents, Leo Edison Foster and Olivia Marie Richard; and sisters, Mary Elayne Spence and Melita Ann Poole.

She leaves behind her husband, Steven Alan Clark, of Livingston, TX; her daughters, Michelle Gray, of Southern California, Mindy Olivia Gray, of Houston, TX, and Markelle Danese Stansell of San Gabriel Valley, CA; her son, Monte Paul Gray of Livingston, TX; her only remaining sister, Jeanette Marie Martini of Walnut Creek, CA; and her two grandchildren, Ripley and Ume of Southern California.

We suspect Melba also leaves behind a fat opossum she named Nicodemus in the woods near her home that is still faring quite well from the canned fruit she regularly fed him.

It was her heartfelt wish to spare her loved ones the sadness of a formal service.

She will be cremated, her ashes kept by her daughter Mindy, and will have a memorial marker placed at the foot of her parents’ graves in Doyle Cemetery in Starks, LA.

In lieu of flowers, please consider emailing your fond memories of Melba to her family at: MelbaMemories46@gmail.com

Melba’s favorite season was Christmas, and it would be a tremendous gift for her family to be able to read your sentiments during the holidays.