GRAY, William Gaskins, of Midlothian, Virginia, died on Wednesday, March 13, 2013. He was preceded in death by his parents, the Rev. Corbelle Katon and Ruth Hart Gray. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Carol Capel Gray; his children, Donald K. Gray and his wife, Lynn Gray, Paul E. Gray and his wife, Amoret Bunn, and Suzanne Gray Ventriglia and her husband, Gary Ventriglia; his brothers, Robert E. Gray and his wife, Kathy Gray, and James K. Gray and his wife, Lyn Gray; and their son, Rafael Gray; and his grandchildren, Elizabeth Gray, Catherine Gray, Sara Ventriglia and Jason Ventriglia; and numerous other family and friends. Bill, as he was known to his family and friends, graduated from Randolph-Macon College (R-MC) in 1966. He was an Old Dominion Foundation Fellow at both the University of Virginia and Yale University. He taught English Language Arts for 20 years in Chesterfield County. After he left the school system, he worked for 10 years for National Computer Systems (NCS), selling data collection/ reporting systems to public school districts. Afterward, he was a business partner and then the owner of his own business, Survey Products, doing much the same work as he had at NCS. He retired in 2002. Along the way, he was active in groups associated with his career and interests: President of the Chesterfield Education Association; Chair of the Virginia Education Association Departments Council; President of the Virginia Association of Teachers of English; Education Committee Chair of the Chesterfield Ruritan Club; Board Member of the National Council of Teachers of English; Campaign Director of the John Waldrop for Congress, 3rd District of Virginia; Founder/Board Chair of the Eastern Montgomery Educational Foundation; Board Member of the Old Brunswick Circuit Foundation; Project Coordinator of the Moreland Monument Committee; Chair of the R-MC Annual Fund; and Class Fundraising Agent for the R-MC Class of 1966. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the The Corbelle Katon and Ruth Hart Gray Scholarship Fund for pre-ministerial students at Randolph Macon College, P. O. Box 5005; Ashland, VA 23005 or another charity of your choice. The family will receive family and friends on Saturday, March 16 from 5 until 7 p.m. and on Sunday, March 17, and from 2 until 4 p.m. at Bliley's Funeral Home, Chippenham Chapel, 6900 Hull Street Road, Richmond, Va. 23224. A funeral service will be conducted at 10 a.m. on Monday, March 18, at Bliley's Funeral Home, Chippenham Chapel. The burial will take place immediately after the memorial service at Dale Memorial Park.
This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.