David Bryant Wray

David Bryant Wray, 73, died peacefully on November 11, 2025, with his wife by his side. A cancer survivor, he died due to complications from his cancer treatments.
We will remember him as an intellectual, world traveler, voracious reader, adventurer, wonderful conversationalist, and passionate cook.
David was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, to Dr. Joe and Beth Wray. His father was a pioneer in the field of international pediatric and maternal health and took the family to live in Turkey, Colombia, and Thailand, where he worked as a medical and public health educator. His mother found a passion for exploring the histories and religions of these places, organizing extensive travel to visit important sites, especially in Asia. They had four more children and, from their own great curiosity and belief in the beauty and beneficence of the world and its people, exposed them to the history, religions and cultures of the regions they called home.
For the Wrays, family meant everything, exploration was their favorite activity, and home was wherever they were together. David's sister Ann, who was closest in age, fondly recalled David's tendency to soak up the world and his competitive streak. "He was smarter than me with a steel-trap memory, which he sometimes showed off at my expense," Ann recalled. His younger siblings, Emily, Amy, and Ricardo, remembered a big brother who, beneath his sometimes-gruff exterior, was protective and kind. According to Emily, "He was super sweet, and he was there for us when we needed him."
A child of the '60s, David began wearing his hair long as a teenager and kept it that way for a decade. "His influence turned us into little hippie kids," Amy said, including introducing them to the counter-culture music of The Beatles; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; Joni Mitchell; Bonnie Raitt; and others of that era. David embraced his parents' opposition to the Vietnam War and developed a rebellious streak that caused him to question authority, which sometimes got him into trouble. He spent high school at the Thacher School, in Ojai, California.
He attended Lawrence University in Wisconsin, a small liberal arts college where he completed a self-designed major in The Dialectic of Change: Tradition and Modernity in the Third World that drew on his experiences abroad. More importantly, Lawrence introduced David to like-minded friends, who also embraced his love of books and sharing knowledge together. Following graduation, David worked to fund his adventurous travels, getting off the beaten path and stretching his dollars as far as they would go by riding crowded buses and sleeping on hammocks on the beach. Wherever he went, he loved getting to know the local people and would eagerly chat with anyone interested. His fluency in Spanish, learned in his early life in Colombia, was a great asset to his travels throughout Latin America.
A few years later, it was his friends from Lawrence, now living in New York City, who helped David secure a job as a copy editor at Forbes Magazine. It was a perfect fit. It suited his critical mind and attention to detail. He soon gained a reputation for being feisty and smart, with a remarkable breadth of knowledge and determination to get the facts right. Editors at many major financial publications wanted David Wray on their copy desk, and over his long career, David worked for Forbes, Manhattan Inc., Fortune, Picture Week, Corporate Finance, Financial World, and Institutional Investor, before becoming a freelancer. He was particularly proud of his role on the editorial team of On The Brink, a first-person account of the 2008 economic crisis by former US Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr.
One day in 1988, working at Financial World, David had a dust-up with a staff writer, Ellen Benoit, over her use of the word "torchière." Both certain that they were right, they made a bet. In the end, Ellen conceded and paid off the bet by taking him out for a beer. "He told me I was a good listener," Ellen reminisced. "He was just so smart and interesting. I didn't feel intimidated, although maybe I should have. And he had such a beautiful voice. Once, I got home to find that he had called and left a message that said simply, 'I miss you.' The rest was history." Four years later, they were married.
David continued his travels, joined by Ellen when she could, and explored Australia, New Zealand, India, and many other countries. One of his favorite parts of traveling was his search for the perfect beach where he could indulge his love of body-surfing. In the end, none could compare to Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica.
Athleticism came naturally to David. As a child, he engaged in horseback riding, and loved playing-and watching-soccer. In addition to body surfing, he was a "killer" ping pong player. His competitive nature also included a fondness for board games, including backgammon. "One time we played seven games in a row, and he won all seven," Ricardo, his younger brother, recalled. "I couldn't beat him!"
He was a relentless reader all of his life. He was happy reading all day long, when he could, feeding his intellectual curiosity across fiction and non-fiction. He seemed to remember everything he read and loved to share what he thought would engage others, making him a gifted and generous conversationalist.
Probably his number one passion, after reading, was cooking. He loved finding new recipes and experimenting with textures, fragrances, and fresh ingredients. Cooking was his love language, and he found joy in preparing a fabulous meal for a large table of family and friends.
In 1996, David and Ellen bought a historic house on a 15-acre wooded property in Hope, a rural town in northern New Jersey. They enjoyed life in the country with a close circle of old friends nearby, including the Goodbodys, who had become a second family to them. David continued to travel as much as possible and enjoyed a final trip to Spain with Ellen in 2024.
We will remember David as endlessly curious, a cheerful curmudgeon whose greatest pleasure was the company of his family and friends. "We all felt very loved by David to the end of his days," Amy said.
David is survived by his wife, Ellen Benoit; his mother, Elizabeth Wray; his siblings Ann Justin (Elliot Justin), Amy Caputo (Robert Caputo), Emily Frey (Luke Frey), and Ricardo Wray (Carol Wray); and many nieces and nephews: Samuel Frey, Lily Rosenberg, Grant Justin, Eric Justin, Eleanor Justin, Nicholas Caputo, Matthew Caputo, Viola Wray, Martin Wray, Nora Callahan, Anne Tickell, Michael Benoit, and Luke Benoit; as well as friends around the world. We will miss him.
If anyone wishes to make a contribution in David's memory, please consider a gift to Doctors Without Borders: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/. (Click Donate, choose "Dedicate my donation," and enter David's name as honoree.)