Obituaries
Obituary: Tana B. Gray
Tana's life was filled with many accomplishments and honors. She was known as a problem solver and a natural-born athlete.
Obituary was published and funeral arrangements were entrusted to the care and direction of the Fred C. Dames Funeral Home and Crematory.
Tana B. Gray
Tana B. Gray, (nee Blazevic), age 82, of Joliet, passed away Thursday, May 29, 2025, at her home, surrounded by the love of her family.
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Tana was born August 26, 1942, in Pueblo, Colorado, and lived most of her life in Joliet. She was a graduate of Joliet Township High School and Barat College, Lake Forest, IL where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree.
She had a great many friends, and was a devoted wife, mom and grandmother who loved her family. Her children credit her (and their dad) with having instilled in them strong values and the ethics of hard work.
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Tana taught school for many years, first at Eliza Kelly, then at Parks School, both in Joliet. Later, as part owner of Modern Builders Industrial Concrete Company (MBIC), Tana served as President until its sale in 2005. Its predecessor, Modern Home Builders, was founded by her parents, Tony and Vera Blazevic, in 1947. The renamed company was subsequently owned and operated by the family's second generation along with her husband, Mel, brother, Terry Blazevic, and sister-in-law, Georgia Blazevic.
Tana's life was filled with many accomplishments and honors. She served on numerous committees and organizations: PTA Life Member, Zonta Club, League of Women Voters, Three Rivers Construction Alliance, LECET, and the Contractors Association of Will and Grundy Counties (CAWGC), where she was the first woman to chair that organization.
An elected member of the Joliet Township Board of Education, from 1985 until retiring in 2005, she served as Secretary, Vice President and President. She had an interest in the storied history of JTHS, and continued to help with and then chair the JTHS Archives Committee until 2022, but remained a board member thereafter.
Whether in business or as a member of any board or on any committee, she was known as a problem solver. She had a talent for getting to the heart of the situation with a reasonable and sensible solution.
A natural athlete, Tana enjoyed waterskiing and snow skiing, and played softball and racquetball, but her primary passion was golf. She organized and successively ran two women's golf leagues, and won three Will County Championships and six Joliet Country Club Championships. She also golfed on the Joliet Country Club traveling team for many years. She was very proud of the two holes in one made during her golfing career.
Tana felt fortunate to have traveled to all fifty states and many places abroad, once having flown on the Concorde to Paris. In her spare time she enjoyed reading, gardening, and sometimes bird watching. However, she especially enjoyed spending time with family and friends.
Tana's kindness, compassion and empathy for others were standards by which she lived.
Tana is survived by her husband of 57 years, Melville A. Gray Jr.; three wonderful daughters, Jennifer, Rachel (Olof) Anderson and Stephanie (Dan Collins) Gray; and eight adored grandchildren, Quinn, Liam and Amelia Collins, Leif, Steffan, Annika, Charlotte Anderson, and Joshua Gray. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Georgia Blazevic; and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Anton (Tony) Blazevic and Elvira (Vera) (Baudino) Blazevic, her brother, Terry Blazevic; and a nephew, Bryce Blazevic.
Tana’s family would like to thank her caregivers, Melba and Carrie, for their loving and compassionate care.
In lieu of flowers, memorials in her name to Lightways Hospice or Joliet Township High School Foundation would be greatly appreciated.
Visitation for Tana Gray will be held Sunday, June 8, 2025, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m., at the Fred C. Dames Funeral Home, 3200 Black Road, Joliet. Funeral services will be held Monday, June 9, 2025, at 9:00 a.m., from the funeral home, to Queen of Apostles Catholic Church, where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. Interment will be in Resurrection Cemetery, Romeoville.
For more information, please call (815) 741-5500 or visit her Memorial Tribute at www.fredcdames.com.
