Beacon Staff and Contact

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Kate Gray, Director

Kate Gray was born and raised in Texas, where she lived until 1998 when she moved to Washington State.  Ms. Gray has worked in non-profits most of her life.  After holding the position of Executive Director of Assisted Living Communities, she joined Franke Tobey Jones as the Senior Center Director in 2010,  

Ms. Gray graduated from Evergreen State College with a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology and business.  Through an internship, Kate was employed by Assured Home Health and Hospice where she was the Bereavement Counselor and Program Development Director.  During her tenure in this position, she was awarded the National Hospice Award for Outstanding Program Development.  Later she was appointed to the National Hospice Standards Committee.  Eventually, Ms. Gray took an Executive Director position at Evergreen Court in Bellevue, WA.  She was hired by Emeritus and eventually managed both Evergreen Lodge and Kirkland Lodge, both are assisted living communities. 

Ms. Gray loves Franke Tobey Jones and its mission, and enjoys working with the seniors at Pt. Defiance~Ruston Senior Center and looks forward to getting to know the seniors at Beacon and Lighthouse.  When asked why she does what she does, she stated “It’s in honor of my parents.  I took care of them in their latter years and I just love working with seniors.  I learn so much from them!”  While working at the Senior Center, Ms. Gray went on to pursue a Master’s Degree in Public Health Preparedness and Biosecurity for Agriculture. She states that “while those subjects may seem unrelated to my current position, I have often utilized my Public Health Preparedness training at the Senior Center.” 

Kate was married for almost 18 years.  Her pride and joy is her daughter, Kristen, who lives in Seattle.  Kate’s second joy is her recently acquired baby, Hershey, a Miniature Australian Labradoodle.  Hershey has quickly become the well known ambassador of the Senior Center, greeting everyone with a friendly wagging tail.  When Hershey is not in the building, everyone wants to know her whereabouts.  When Ms. Gray is not working, she enjoys reading, playing with Hershey and reveling in the beauty of Washington State.

Kate invites you to check out one of the csenior centers, Beacon, Lighthouse or Point Defiance~Ruston Senior Center and join any of the many activities offered every week.  (The calendar is located on the “Newsletter and Calendar” page.

Lynn Fillmore, Site Supervisor

Lynn Fillmore, a native of Fresno, California, started her career with the American Red Cross back in 1994. She found herself relocating to Olympia, Washington, where she quickly fell in love with the landscape of the Pacific Northwest. But it wasn’t long before she was called to Houston, Texas, to take on the important role of Executive Director at a branch office.  However, the allure of Washington was too strong, and by 2007, she found herself back in our beautiful state. There, she played a vital role as the Business Office Director for various assisted living communities in the Puget Sound area, where she has made her home since.

Lynn’s caring nature didn’t stop there. She lent her expertise to Kindred at Home, a home health agency.  In addition, she has spent her free time volunteering at the Point Defiance-Ruston Senior Center. She has loved every moment of the eight years working with senior adults.

Outside of work, Lynn is a loving mother to three sons and a grandmother to six grandchildren. She has a friendly dog named Rocco and enjoys pastimes such as reading, puzzling, and watching movies. Now, as a proud member of the FTJ family, Lynn extends a warm invitation to all to visit the Beacon Senior Center and take part in the fun activities there. She looks forward to meeting you and sharing her enthusiasm and love for life!

Vicki Cornwell, Site Coordinator

Vicki Cornwell was born in Tampa, FL, raised in rural NY and spent the majority of her adult life in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire with her husband and two children. She attended Keene State College in NH where she received her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education.

Vicki’s career began in the Medical Records field where she worked for fourteen years in both a rehabilitation facility and an acute care hospital, After the birth of her second child she moved on to the Customer Service field for a handful of years until she landed her dream job as an Elementary Teacher in a small private school in NH.

In 2021, she retired from teaching after a 20-year stint and relocated to Tacoma to be close to her two adult children, Tara and Jack. Tara is married with one adorable grand-pup named Scout and Jack has not met “the one” yet and lives in Carnation. She lived with and cared for her aging mother, Iris, for over fourteen years. Through that experience and becoming a senior herself she developed empathy and a heart for seniors which lead to her second dream job here at Beacon. Vicki loves to explore the Pacific Northwest, spend time with her kids, enjoys walking (not hiking) the beach, cards and reading.

She is excited about joining the FTJ Beacon family and getting to know everyone!