Richard G. Gray, Sr.

• 
• 

Gray, Richard G., Sr. Dick Gray, Sr., 95, died rather suddenly on March 5, 2014, surrounded by family and friends at his residence, Meridian Manor in Wayzata. After showing some symptoms only 11 days prior to his passing, doctors discovered a massive, inoperable, aggressive brain tumor. He is survived by his partner, Marion Downs, older sister, Marjorie Gray Vogel, sons, Dick, Jr., Jim (Cathy), and Steve (Carol), 6 grandchildren and 5 great- grandchildren. Preceded in death by his wife, Kathryn Simmons Gray and his subsequent partner, Molly Simmons. Born April 6, 1918 in Peoria, Illinois. Graduated in 1936 from Washburn High School. Attended Dartmouth College, and graduated from The University of Minnesota in 1940 with a bachelors degree in Petroleum Geology. Enlisted and served in the Navy as a LTJG on a troop carrier in the South Pacific from 1942 until the end of WWII. After a brief stint as a Yard Manager for a refinery, he founded REVCO, later renamed Zero-Max Industries, which designed, manufactured and sold fractional horsepower variable speed control devices throughout the world. He sold what then became a very successful collection of businesses in 1979, some to his son, Jim, and mostly to the Barry Wright Corp., a publicly traded company in Massachusetts. In 1968, when Richard Nixon was elected President, Dick Gray assumed his Board position for one of the IDS Mutual Funds, later to become President of the family of IDS Funds for five years. In 1968, while living on Lake Minnetonka, he developed an interest in the problems facing our freshwater resources. With the help of many people including Hibbert Hill, a retired NSP executive and Dr. Richard Caldecott, Dean of U of M's College of Biological Sciences, Dick Gray founded The Freshwater Foundation. This Foundation built a world class research laboratory facility in Navarre, MN, and gave it to The University of MN. It's now known as the Gray Freshwater Center. For twenty years, he wrote a weekly column, "Passwords," that appeared in the Sun Newspapers. His topics were varied, some factual, some philosophical, some opinionated, but always interesting. Almost all the columns were related to our environment in some way. Two books were published from collections of those columns. Because he became identified with freshwater issues, he would get calls from WCCO Radio stars Boone and Erickson to identify the "ice out" day and time on Lake Minnetonka. A third book "The Greedsters" was published in 2012 about fraud in the financial sectors. Other community activities were with Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, Science Museum of Minnesota, The Minnesota Zoo, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Planned Parenthood, YMCA, and many other organizations throughout the country. Over the years, at various times, Dick was a member of The Minneapolis Club, The Minikahda Club, The Minneapolis Athletic Club, The Lafayette Club and The Hillsboro Club. He has received many awards and honors, including an Honorary Doctorate from Montana State University in Bozeman, and the Service Above Self award from the Minneapolis Rotary Club. Throughout his life, he loved his family, his friends, his community, his country and his world. That love and his charismatic personality, resulted in accomplishments far and wide. But most of all, it brought him love from his family, friends and associates all over the world. He had a wonderful ride, and we all enjoyed it with him. Dick Gray did what we all dream of - he made the world a better place. May he rest in peace. There will be a Celebration of the Life and Times of Dick Gray on April 19 at 1 PM at The Gray Freshwater Center, 2500 Shadywood Road, Navarre, MN 55331. Memorials to The Freshwater Society, 2500 Shadywood Road, Navarre, MN 55331, (952) 471-9773.

Published on March 9, 2014