Kirk Robert Wray

1955 - 2014

(News article) BOWLING GREEN - Kirk Robert Wray, 59, a self-taught computer expert and an amateur thespian who helped shepherd Wood County's WCNet.org into a regional, low-cost Internet service provider, died on Nov. 13 at his home in Bowling Green.

The cause of death was lung cancer, said his mother, Mary Dubbs.

WCNet was begun in 1995, and Mr. Wray signed on as a help desk volunteer for the Internet service provider. It turned into a paid position that allowed him to work from his home, Mrs. Dubbs said.

Mr. Wray, a twin, was born on Feb 22, 1955, in Chico, Calif.

His family moved to Ohio when he was 6, sister Melanie Wray said, because "Mom got pregnant again, and they found out it was another set of twins. They had to move back to Ohio so they could get some family help baby-sitting. ..."

He graduated from Bowling Green High School in 1973. He attended Bowling Green State University but dropped out after a semester after determining college wasn't a good fit.

"He figured he could learn more on his own," his mother said.

Mr. Wray, a life-long bachelor, read constantly, primarily literature, but extended his horizons to various subjects.

"He read his way to knowledge," his sister said. "He always said that cats and books were the best company."

He began acting in 1971 while in high school. Two years later, he was honored by the Diocese of Toledo's youth organization, which staged regional theater competitions, his mother said.

He became involved with the Black Swamp Players in Bowling Green, but left the stage for good in 1994 following the death of a close friend and fellow actor, Mrs. Dubbs said.

He worked for several pizza shops while doing theater and kept in touch with co-workers over the years through the annual "Pub Fest" gatherings for food, fun, and wit.

He supplemented his pizza income as a term-paper ghostwriter.

Kelly Dubbs, a brother, said he guaranteed his student customers a B in exchange for one price or "if more money was involved, he'd guarantee an A. He probably wrote enough term papers to get himself a PhD," Mr. Dubbs said. "He never had a shortage of customers."

He wrote on a variety of topics and was so good he never had to give a refund, Mr. Dubbs added.

The term-paper sideline led to a radio show on student-run WBGU-FM with Mr. Dubbs in the mid-1980s. The station manager, a term-paper customer, agreed to give them a three-hour slot dubbed the Local Lampoon Live Show on Sunday.

"We did it one week and had such fun Kirk asked if we could keep doing this," Mr. Dubbs said. The shows featured some music and skits, with the brothers taking on different voices and characters. Neither brother was a BGSU student at the time.

Mr. Dubbs used a show to skewer university President Paul Olscamp. "He had a bone to pick with Olscamp," Mr. Dubbs said. "I don't know why. Maybe he didn't like the way he was running things."

The show continued for nearly two years, ending about 1984, when university officials pulled the plug on their fun, Mr. Dubbs said.

Mr. Wray was a "huge baseball fan" who followed the Cleveland Indians, taking a score book with him to games to track players and stats, his sister Melanie said.

"He had a lot to do with my mother becoming a baseball fan. He got her interested in the Mud Hens," she said.

Mr. Wray's biological father preceded him in death in 1967.

Mr. Wray is survived by parents, Mary and Marv Dubbs, twin brother, Kevin Wray, twin brothers Terence and Thomas Wray; brothers Kelly and Marty Dubbs, and sisters Alison Deiners, Melanie Wray, and Suzanne Dubbs Hancock.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. today at Witzler-Shank Funeral Home, Perrysburg, where the funeral will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Memorials are suggested to the Black Swamp Players, P.O. Box 601, Bowling Green, Ohio 43402.

Contact Blade staff writer Jim Sielicki at jsielicki@theblade.com or 419-724-6050.