Maurice "Jerry" Gray

Jerry Gray

After a long and wonderful life, Maurice "Jerry" Gray passed into Heaven on March 28, 2011. Born on July 1, 1926 to David E. Gray and Effie Gray, he lived in Seattle, San Francisco, Seattle again, Olympia, and Lacey.
Jerry enlisted in the US Army Air Corps during World War II. As a cadet training to be a flight engineer, he was discharged when the war in Europe was over. He then went to Seattle University. He spent his three summers working on a government project to survey the north coast of Alaska, long before Prudhoe Bay became famous. He traveled in Europe for a year and came home as an able-bodied seaman on an oil tanker, passing through the Suez Canal twice.
Back home in Seattle, Jerry was an industrial engineer for Boeing. An avid skier, he was a sports reporter for the Seattle P.I. and Channel 13. He covered skiing at the Squaw Valley Olympics and attended the famous final hockey game when the US beat Russia for the gold. He worked for Bill Speidel in public relations.
Jerry came to Olympia in 1961 to work for the State Highway Department as Public Information Officer and liaison to the governor.
He met Herberta Howe in Olympia. They were married in Seattle on December 18, 1965.
Saint Martin's College hired Jerry to raise funds and manage the completion of the barely-started Capital Pavilion. While they were designing the building to meet the all-purpose needs of the community, they deliberately made the floor strong enough for elephants. Later, a circus did come, and they did put elephants on his floor. While he was there, as assistant to college president Father Michael Feeney, Jerry also assisted in forming the school's first board of regents.
Jerry next went to work as an administrator for the state Water Pollution Control Commission. When that and other environmental agencies became the state Department of Ecology, he was responsible for finding office space. St. Martin's Abbey's recently closed high school dorms turned out to be a good fit. The department moved there and has expanded and been there ever since.
Active in Republican politics, Jerry was a precinct committeeman for many years. He ran for the state legislature twice. He volunteered on the Lacey Planning Commission and then was elected to the Lacey City Council. He served on the council for twelve years.
Jerry was a long-time member of The American Legion Post 94 in lacey. He was a life-long Roman Catholic. When he was in his 70s he read the entire Bible.
Jerry is survived by his wife, Herberta; daughter, Joey; son, David (Cheryl); grandsons, Jake and Cole; sister, Marilyn; brother, Frank (Carole); and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by a baby sister, Joanne, and three half-brothers.
A private graveside ceremony has been held. Memorial donations may be made in Jerry's name to The American Legion, Lacey Post 94, PO Box 5639, Lacey WA 98509. Arrangements have been entrusted to Woodlawn Funeral Home. To leave condolences for the family, please visit,
www.woodlawn-funeralhome.com.