Robert Gray

Family-Placed Obituary


GRAY, Robert Allen GRAY, Robert Allen Born March 13, 1916 in Mt. Healthy, Ohio to Matilda Schwierking and Walter Gray, passed away Friday, September 22, 2006. Robert was a wonderful, kind, and caring husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather and will be greatly missed. He and his wife, the late Edna Allen Gray, were married 61 years. Robert graduated Hamilton High School, in Hamilton, Ohio, in 1935 and received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1939. He and Edna began their courtship in 1933 and married in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 7, 1940. They lived in Hamilton, Ohio until 1999, when they moved to Double Oak, Texas, to be closer to their children and grandchildren. Robert, known affectionately as "Poppy Gray", was a man of high integrity and strong values. His family will miss his wonderful stories and his helping hand. As a youth, he worked with his grandfather raising orchids, roses, and lilies. He helped his father with his florist shop. His love of nature and his agricultural pursuits continued his entire life. His green thumb was only surpassed by his mechanical genius. His professional career was in the field of engineering and he retired from General Electric in Evendale, Ohio, in 1981. In addition to gardening, his favorite pastime was working on cars and other fix-it projects. He did not miss an Indy 500 for over 40 years. Robert belonged to the "Greatest Generation", having lived through the depression, and leaving a wife and two small children at home as he served our country in the United States Army in World War II. He traveled extensively with his wife, Edna, visiting most of the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, Europe, Scandinavia, and the Soviet Union. Robert will be remembered as someone who was always helping others. He cared for his elderly aunts in their final years. He was his wife's caregiver as she struggled with Alzheimer's disease. He was a great teacher to his children and their children, instilling in them a respect for nature and for others. Robert is survived by three daughters, Judith Gray Wood and husband Dr. Richard Wood of Waxahachie, Texas; Joan Gray Love of Black Hawk, South Dakota, and Senator Jane Gray Nelson and husband Michael Nelson of Lewisville, Texas and one son, Walter James Gray and wife Melissa Gray, of Dallas, Texas; seventeen grandchildren and seventeen great-grandchildren. A private graveside service was held at Chinn Chapel Cemetery in Copper Canyon, Texas on September 24, 2006. Reverend Jim Ozier officiated. Mulkey-Mason Funeral Home of Lewisville was in charge of arrangements.