Fred Walter Gray

1945 - 2020

FRED WALTER GRAY Fred Walter Gray, 75, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly at Kadlec Medical Center on March 20, 2020 due to complications of the Wuhan Coronavirus (COVID-19). Sadly, he was the third Benton County resident to succumb to this virus. Fred had been doing well since 2006 with prostate cancer and lung cancer in 2010 until he contracted this virus. Fred is walking with the Lord, shoulder to shoulder, to his new heavenly home no social distancing on this journey! Fred now has a new pair of lungs and he can claim his "Victory in Jesus"! Fred was born on January 5, 1945 in Minburn, Iowa, to Herman ("Jack") Gray & Bertha (Shane) Gray. Jack headed to Richland, WA where he found employment with hundreds of others who migrated to the Hanford Project. The rest of the family followed by train in 1950 and found housing in Heminger City (later known as West Richland). Fred had lots of stories about growing up in West Richland with his older brothers sand burr and rock fights, swimming in the canal, and shooting rats at the dump that is now "Bird Hill". Fred attended school at Jason Lee, Carmichael Jr. High and Columbia High, graduating in 1964. Playing football for the Richland Bombers was a big part of Fred's high school life. After graduation, he moved to Hayward, CA to attend junior college. Deciding college wasn't for him, he worked three part-time jobs there before returning to West Richland. Fred enlisted in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War and served from 1965-1969 as Inventory Supervisor /Management Control Specialist. He served at Bunker Hill AFB (Grissom AFB; now known as Grissom Air Reserve Base) in Peru (Kokomo), Indiana; Mactan Island AFB (Philippines); TDY to Saigon, South Vietnam; and Clark AFB (Philippines). While in the Air Force, Fred met a young widow, Donna Hunter, who had four small children. They were married in 1966 in Kokomo, IN. To this union was born Jill Suzanne Gray in 1967 and Fred Eric Gray in 1972. After serving four years, Fred was honorably discharged from the Air Force and then worked at several jobs including insurance sales with Western-Southern Life and as a volunteer firefighter. After the marriage ended, Fred returned to the Tri- Cities where he met and married Kay Simpson in 1978. To that union was born Kendra Dawn Gray in 1979 and Kevin Michael Gray in 1983. During this time, Fred worked at Westinghouse as a radiation monitor and Washington Public Power Supply System (now known as Energy Northwest), as Storekeeper and then as a Material Analyst. Until his knees gave out, Fred played softball for many years on church and city leagues. This marriage ended in 1987. Fred met Candy (Hanks) Stutz at a square dance and, what started out as friendship, turned to love and respect. They were married on April 8, 1989. In 1999, Fred's department at Energy Northwest was eliminated. It took two years of part time jobs before he ultimately gained full-time employment with Raytheon in Hermiston, OR at the Umatilla Army Depot as Tool Room Supervisor for the Maintenance Department. As other contractors took over the project, Fred retired from URS in 2009. His theme in retirement was "Do it while you can, because someday you won't be able to". Fred and Candy spent their 30 years living in Kennewick. With Candy as trip planner and navigator, Fred went to many places he never dreamed he would go. They enjoyed traveling, camping, cruising and working around the house. Fred's favorite cruises were to the Baltic and Scandinavian countries and Alaska. During 2019, several items were checked off Fred's "bucket list". They spent two weeks in Hawaii and six months traveling throughout the U.S. in their motorhome going to many national parks, historical sites and visiting family and friends along the way. He also enjoyed their visits to the Washington and Oregon coasts. They would enjoy a "Sunday drive" any day of the week, always with the goal of "getting out of the zip code"! Fred had many interests including woodworking, enjoying his koi pond, making birdhouses and bowling. He bowled weekly on three leagues, most recently at Spare Time Lanes in Kennewick. Candy knew to never schedule anything at noon on Tuesdays or Fridays, or at 6:00 pm on Thursdays! He attended many State and National Bowling Tournaments. Unfortunately, as hard as he tried, a perfect 300 game was not to be. He enjoyed sitting on the back deck watching the baby birds in his many birdhouses, listening to the waterfall in his pond, lighting the tiki torches at night and building incredible fires both at home and while camping. He did love his fires and the bigger the better! He cheered on Seattle Seahawks football, Seattle Mariners baseball and Gonzaga Bulldogs basketball. Fred loved big, fat, chunky pens, collected t-shirts that he bought as souvenirs from many venues, towns, states and countries on his travels, as well as hiking medallions from various national parks and monuments for his walking sticks. Fred loved country music, especially the old- timers Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Bill Monroe, Little Jimmy Dickens, Ernest Tubb, Johnny Cash and others. He also relaxed to classical music and enjoyed listening to The Gaither's, Josh Groban, Sarah Brightman and tenors, including Pavarotti, Frank Patterson and Celtic Thunder. Fred loved his family very much. He was a hard worker and was always busy doing something. He was honest and a man of integrity. If he said he would do something, he kept his word and did it! And that was a quality he admired in others. He gave advice liberally, occasionally he was asked for it! He was always there to help family and friends when needs arose, generous with his time and resources, while hoping to help instill in his children and grandchildren the traits of honesty and responsibility. When his children were younger, Fred was involved with the Lewis and Clark Elementary School PTA, Special Olympics, Boy Scouts and Y Indian Guides. Fred loved his family, his country and his Lord. He became a Christian when he was in junior high because a neighbor lady took him to Sunday school. He accepted the Lord as his personal savior and was baptized at the First Baptist Church in Richland. Over the years, he has attended and made many friends at CUP, Kennewick First Christian, Cornerstone Christian, Community Bible Church and Columbia Community Church (C3). Fred loved the Lord and knew Jesus as a special friend. He always got choked up singing "The Old Rugged Cross" or anytime he reflected on Christ's sacrifice on the cross. It overwhelmed Fred to know that, if he was the only person on earth, Jesus would still have died for him. Fred knew he was a sinner and wasn't a perfect man but he asked for forgiveness every day, asked the Lord to help make him a better person, and thanked God for his salvation and for leading him on the path to eternity in Heaven with his Lord Jesus. As Fred grew older and matured in his faith, he prayed that his children, grandchildren and others he dearly loved would seek a personal relationship with Jesus. Fred volunteered with Fields of Grace, a local gleaning organization and was a member of the Eastern Washington Walk to Emmaus and Walk with Christ community, many of whose members he saw as his brothers & sisters. Fred not only had a beautiful singing voice but he could also whistle a happy tune! He participated in the senior group activities at C3, including Bible study and he especially enjoyed their monthly potlucks! He loved everything (except beets), enjoyed Candy's cooking and he liked his bacon and hash browns crispy. He often said "I ordered Hash Brown, not Hash Whites"! Fred loved Snickers Blizzards at Dairy Queen and enjoyed taking his grandchildren there to share a fun time and a special treat. Some saw Fred as a serious, stern individual but those who really knew him knew that he had a heart of gold and a great sense of humor. Fred was a black and white kind of guy, things were either right or wrong; he didn't dwell in gray areas. He definitely had a funny side. Case in point, after grocery shopping, he took the stickers off the fruits and vegetables and would stick them all around the house under the lamp, the salt shaker, on the back of a framed picture, on top of the microwave, on the toothpaste tube, etc. He said "When I'm gone, you'll be finding these for years"!! Fred was preceded in death by his father Herman Gray, mother Bertha Holman, baby sister Elisa Leona, brothers Robert, Dale and John, and infant son Ryan. Fred is survived and is so loved and missed by his wife of almost 31 years, Candy Gray and also by his four children, Jill (Eric) Biggins, Ocala, FL, Eric (Michelle) Gray, Gilbert, AZ, Kendra (Bobby) Allen, Richland, and Kevin (Amber Faul) Gray, Kennewick; 11 grandchildren Jasen Biggins, Palm Harbor, FL, Nicole (Anthony) Walker, Ocala, FL, Brandon Bush and Trinity Gray, Gilbert, AZ, Jade Bush (special friend John), Lynnwood, WA, Justin Gray, Jaeden Gray and their mother, Angela Ringor (all of San Tan Valley, AZ), Malcolm Allen (Samantha Hopwood), Finley, Justin Allen, Richland, Kimberly Gray and Jorden Gray, Kennewick, and one great granddaughter, Grace Allen, Finley. Fred is survived by his brothers, Lewis Gray, Kennewick, Eddie Gray, Portland, OR, and sister Ina May Street, Boardman, OR. He's also survived by high school friend and camping buddy Jim Coyne, long time special friend John Slaughter, his many bowling buddies, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, special sisters - and brothers-in-law, and more loving friends than we can count. He is also missed by his pup, Maggie, and his kitty, Felicia. Fred was loved and will be deeply missed by all. Sincere thanks to Fred's family and friends who had been praying for him since he went into the hospital on March 14. Over the last 14 years, Fred had received excellent care from Dr. Joseph Rosales at Virginia Mason in Seattle for his cancer and both Critical Nurse Staffing and Nuclear Care Partners for Hanford related health issues. We so appreciate the absolute love, care, and respect the ICU staff at Kadlec Medical Center bestowed on our sweet Fred during his last week: Dr. Rawat and Dr. Gannom, nurses Amber, Kevin, Sara, Somrit, Verla, and especially Nicole who held Fred's hand and stayed with him as he started his journey to Heaven. Also to Chaplain Tim Ledbetter for his kind and comforting words during this most difficult time. In honor of Fred's wishes, cremation has taken place. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, a celebration of Fred's life will be planned at a later date when it is safe to gather. We expect many will want to come and share in the joy of Fred's arrival at his eternal heavenly home! Dear Ones: Please take this virus seriously and do what is asked of you. It is deadly and not something to be taken lightly. Stay home. Stay safe for the sake of yourselves, your family and your community. This will not last forever so do what you can to help shorten the length of this event. And tell your family every day that you love them and, when you can do so again, give them a hug. We have learned in a very real way that life is fragile and temporary. Fred proudly served his country and is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. Therefore, if you are so inclined, please make a donation to any veteran or military organization of your choice in Fred's memory. Einan's Funeral Home in Richland is in charge of arrangement. Express your thoughts and memories on their online Guestbook at www.einansatsunset.com If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Romans 14:8 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18