Our Beloved Dave passed away on December 22, 2023, at the age of 92. He was born in Columbia, Missouri to parents Ellsworth and Ethalind Gray.
His parents moved to Lawrence, Kansas where his father, Dr. Gray, was a highly respected professor and Chairman of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Kansas. Dave’s grandparents had a house in Cape Cod where he would spend many summers making memories.
Dave graduated from Liberty Memorial High School in Lawrence, Kansas. He attended Kansas University where he graduated with a major in Mechanical Engineering. Dave served in both the United States AirForce and Marines. He met the love of his life, Ella Murphy who also attended and graduated from Kansas University. Go Jayhawks!
Dave and Ella were married April 3, 1955. His mechanical engineer career included working for GE and on a NASA project for one of the shuttle launches.
Dave and Ella lived in various places including Arlington, Texas and Tulsa, Oklahoma with their two sons, Glen and Donald before they built their final home in Fort Worth, Texas. This is where they raised their family and lived the rest of their lives together.
Dave held his private pilot’s license and was a member of The Soaring Society of America Inc. His hobbies included listening to big band music, reading, writing aviation or mechanical engineering articles, watching classic movies and flying airplanes. He shared his love of music and airplanes with his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. He loved spending time with his family and was always generous with those he loved.
He is survived by his daughter-in-law, Elvira Gray, of Plano; grandson, David S. Gray, of Plano; granddaughter, Rocio Wade and her husband, Corey Wade of Plano; great granddaughters, Sydney, Zoe, and Indie Wade both of Plano; his niece, Cindy Lakey and her husband, Barry of Kansas; nephew, David Conley of Kansas; and nephew, Steven Conely and his wife, Rosalyn of Kansas.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Ella M. Gray; son, Glen D. Gray; son, Donald S. Gray; granddaughter, Linda M. Gray; parents, Ellsworth S. and Ethalind C. Gray; sister, Ann S. Conley; and both sets of his grandparents.
He was a beloved husband, father, father in-law, grandfather, great grandfather, son, brother, cousin, son-in-law, uncle and friend that will be greatly missed.