Juanita was preceded in death by her: mother and stepfather, Juanita and Frank Nussbaum of Galveston; her father and stepmother, James and Bertie Louise Phipps of Galveston; a stepsister, June Davenport; former husband, Gilbert Bray; and her beloved Siamese, Suki. Juanita is survived by her: sister, Frances Nussbaum, of Houston, TX (Clear Lake Area); cousins, Sandra Oram and her husband, David, James Oram, Bartholomew Oram, and Patricia Bain, all of England.

Juanita attended Ursuline Academy, Lovenberg Junior High, and graduated from Ball High School in 1947.  She graduated from the University of Texas with a B.S. Degree, and in 1953 was a Duchess in the Galveston Mardi Gras Coronation Court.  She went to work for UTMB and was in charge of Dr. Truman Blocker’s Radioisotope Laboratory.  She received her PhD in Microbiology from UTMB in 1965 and began teaching microbiology at UTMB.  Later she worked in Trinidad with a grant from University of Chicago.

Juanita joined the aerospace industry in 1984 and was employed by Lockheed Martin as Principal Scientist of the Life Sciences Department, which included several life-science experiments for NASA that were transported to the International Space Station, until she retired in 1996.

Juanita was a member of the Galveston Historical Foundation, League City Historical Society, the Houston Symphony League Bay Area, The Daughters of the Republic of Texas, and The Lafitte Society of Galveston.  She was active with the Ball High School luncheon group and extremely active with the Lockheed Martin Retirees organization. She was one of the founding members of the Galveston Island Humane Society  and was extremely fond of animals, especially Siamese cats.

Juanita’s family would like to express their gratitude to Dr. Philip Vu, Marilyn Collier and the U.S. Renal Care staff for her care.

A viewing will be held on Monday, December 22 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Crowder Funeral Home in Webster. Funeral Service will take place on Tuesday, December 23 at 11:00 AM at St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church, 18300 Upper Bay Road, Houston, 77058 followed by a luncheon. Entombment will be at Galveston Memorial Park, Hitchcock, TX. Those wishing to make a memorial  donation in Juanita’s memory, may do so to the Second Chance Pets, P.O. Box 1216, League City, TX 77574.