Paul A Gray

1914 - 2007

Retired U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Paul A. Gray, 93, of Carlisle, passed away Monday, May 21, 2007, at the Cumberland Crossings Retirement Community in Carlisle.

He was born on Tuesday, March 17, 1914, in New Castle, and was a son of the late Albert and Ethel (Byers) Gray. He was also preceded in death by his wife of 61 years, Josephine Windisch Gray, who died March 24, 2000.

Mr. Gray enlisted in the Navy in 1932 and served initially on the U.S.S. Battleship Arizona. He was stationed on the U.S.S. Minneapolis during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He served during several naval engagements in the Pacific, including the battle of the Coral Sea and Midway. He also served in a special logistics task force which was responsible for sourcing munitions to the attack forces in the Pacific. He was present in Tokyo Bay during the signing of the armistice. In 1953, he was assigned as naval representative to the Potsdam Military Liaison in Germany and in 1966 was awarded the Legion of Merit for his intelligence services during that period.

After his retirement from the Navy in 1957, Paul began working for the Bendix Corp., Scintilla Plant, in Sidney, N.Y., where he was director of safety and security. Upon retirement from Bendix, he became an OSHA inspector for the State of Maryland.

Mr. Gray was a member of St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Carlisle.

He is survived by his daughter, Patricia A. (and her husband, John) Tancredi of Olathe, Kan.; two granddaughters, Heather Tancredi and Beth Chunn; and four great-grandchildren, Jacqueline, Iain, Nicolas and Christian.

Funeral services will be held at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 24, in the Ewing Brothers Funeral Home, 630 S. Hanover St., Carlisle, with the Rev. Timothy Sadler and the Rev. Robert Seibold officiating. Burial with military honors will be held at 9:30 a.m. Friday, May 25, in Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Annville, with the Rev. Robert Baughan officiating. A visitation will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, at the funeral home.

Memorial contributions can be made to the American Cancer Society, 3211 N. Front St., Suite 100, Harrisburg, PA 17110-1342 or to Cumberland Crossing Retirement Community, 1 Longsdorf Way, Carlisle, PA 17015.

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