William Melvin Gray

1943 - 2024

William Melvin Gray

1943-2024

William Melvin Gray, Professor Emeritus at the University of Toledo, succumbed to Parkinson's Disease at Flower Hospital on March 29, 2024, at the age of 81.

Bill was born in Little Falls, New York, to Mary and Melvin Gray. His innate curiosity led him to the love of his life, Mary Ann, in the spring of 1962 when they were freshmen at SUNY Albany. Walking back to the dorms after chemistry class, he observed that the coed in front of him was wearing one navy blue and one black knee sock (Coeds were not allowed to wear slacks at SUNY Albany in 1962!) and couldn't resist asking her why.

That same curiosity changed both of their lives when they began work on their master's degrees at SUNY Albany after they were engaged. Bill approached his Educational Psychology professor with some questions he had about the material presented that day, and Dr. Jack McMorris asked him if he was interested in applying for a doctoral fellowship in Educational Psychology and Statistics. Until then, the plan had been to teach history and coach basketball, but he and Mary Ann thought "Why not?" And so began a wonderful life in academia in which they met stimulating people, continued to learn and grow themselves, and found their closest friends.

Bill began his career at 26 in the College of Education at the University of Dayton and moved to the University of Toledo in 1975. In addition to teaching and supervising student teachers, Bill's favorite activity was recruiting doctoral candidates from promising master's students-his way of paying forward Jack McMorris's gift to him. A week before Bill passed, he received a text from one such recruit telling Bill of a conversation he had had with another protegee of Bill's about the influence Bill was in their lives, personally and professionally…and that is the real reward of teaching: Teachers affect lives.

In addition to teaching, Bill conducted research that he presented at national conferences, served as treasurer of one of them for years (and the books balanced to the penny!), and eventually served as the graduate dean in the Judith Herb College of Education at the University of Toledo where no master's or doctoral thesis was approved without careful scrutiny!

While Bill loved his career, once he returned home for the day, his focus was on Mary Ann and their two beautiful daughters. He taught them all he knew about running, soccer, and basketball and spent hours in the yard and at the basketball hoop with them. He never missed one of their games and did the stats for the Southview girls' basketball team for the eight years that his daughters played. He ran enrollment projections for the Sylvania City School District and was nominated for the Outstanding Educator Award by the district. It was only when his daughters were in college that he considered administration when he was asked to serve.

Bill is survived by his wife, Mary Ann; daughter and "son," Nicki and Bill Gabehart; grandchildren, Connor and Hailey Taylor, and Mina and Autumn Gabehart; sister-in-law, Margaret Wyman; nephews, Jay (Lauren) and Peter (Jacci) Meindl; great-nieces and nephew, Eden, Gracie, and Oliver Meindl. Bill was preceded in death by daughter, Michele (Minkel) Taylor; and brother-in-law, Joseph Meindl.

A Memorial Service will be held at Christ Presbyterian Church at a later date followed by a reception at the University of Toledo. Mary Ann, Nicki, and her husband, Bill want to thank Flower Hospital Intensive Care Nurse Kalee, Sincera Nurse Practitioner Mary Pat Page, Hospitalist Dr. Hanif, and Critical Care Dr. Westphal for their compassionate guidance in Bill's heavenly transition. In lieu of flowers, please consider contributions to Sincera, The Michael J. Fox Foundation, or the University of Toledo Foundation.