Anne Ackley Gray passed away peacefully on June 23 after bravely living with Parkinson's disease for many years. She was 82.

Anne, known to her family and childhood friends as "Tucky," was born on December 19, 1943, the eldest daughter of Grace Cook Ramus and Michael Ramus. Anne grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her brother Peter ("Tracy"), sister Grace ("Bebe"), and many Cook cousins. It was a very musical family, and Anne, who possessed a beautiful soprano voice, played guitar and sang around town throughout her teens.  At age 16, Anne was invited to do a recording with the well-known blues and rock singer Bo Diddley, but her mother, leery of the vices of the popular music industry, said no.

After graduating from Miss Fine's School in 1961, Anne earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College, followed by a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Throughout her career, she studied voice with George McKinley, Margaret Harshaw, Daniel Pratt, and Glenn Parker, among others.

In 1967, Anne married Alexander Ackley, began a family, and continued singing.

She performed in several Gilbert & Sullivan operettas with New York's Blue Hill Troupe and later appeared as a soloist with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the New York Schola Cantorum, and the American Bach Society. Anne took part in many productions with the Princeton University Opera Theatre under the direction of Peter Westergaard, such as The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro, and Don Giovanni. She also had roles with the June Opera Festival of New Jersey.   In 1982, she became a tenured professor of voice at Westminster Choir College of Rider University. Anne's voice can be heard as a soloist on the Westminster Choir recording of the J.S. Bach Motets and Christmas Masterpieces and Familiar Carols, 1994, with the Westminster Choir and New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. In 1988, she married George Gray, an international opera singer and fellow Westminster professor, who was her companion until his death in 2023.

Above all, Anne will be remembered with much love for the wisdom and loving-kindness she showed her family members, who were most precious to her. Her dedication to her children and grandchildren was immense. Anne's gentle demeanor, grace, thoughtfulness, and wit were true gifts to the family and friends who knew and loved her.

Anne is survived by her sister Grace Ramus, her daughters, Sarah Eslick and Annie Jain, their husbands Jason Eslick and Deepak Jain, and loving grandchildren Jamie Eslick, Angus Eslick, Anoushka Jain, and Uma Jain, all of whom will miss her very much. A celebration of life will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Anne's memory to the World Wildlife Fund.