Name: Robert James Gray



Life Dates: 3/26/1932 - 5/22/2007



City Of Birth: Rochester, NY



Pre-deceased by

His wife, Beverly Gray; daughter, Jacqueline L. Frey; brothers, Richard, Edward and Donald.



Survived by

FARMINGTON: May 22, 2007 at age 75. Devoted and loving Father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He is survived by his beloved daughters, Debra (Christopher) Daly, Roberta (Willie) Smith; grandchildren, Kenneth (Heather) Gray, Nikki Gray, Willie Smith Jr., Sara Daly, Cailin Daly; great grandchildren, Kenneth M. Jr., Elyssa, Mikalya, Andon; sister, Carol Nicholas; sisters-in-law, Joan Gray, Shirley Gray; brother-in-law, William A. R. Howard; girlfriend, Dotti Lewis; beloved nieces, nephews and many friends. Bob was a dedicated member of the 82 Airborne Division Association, Greater Rochester Chapter, an avid Golfer and longtime member of Victor Hills and a member of the Corvette Club.



History

Robert was born on March 26, 1932 in Rochester, New York. He attended Holy Cross School , Class of 1946. He entered the Army as a paratrooper on February 16, 1951. He was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He married Beverly Howard on March 1, 1952 in Montgomery County, Tennessee . His first daughter, Jacquline, was born on May 9, 1953 .He left the service with an honorable discharge with the rank of Corporal on February 15, 1954. He returned to Rochester, New York and his second daughter was born on September 5, 1954. His third daughter was born on September 29, 1956. He started work at Eastman Kodak Company upon his return and retired after 30 years of service at age 51. He work for Kodak in England for a period of time and traveled around Europe documented his travels with photographs. He had many interests. He owned a boat for many years and traveled around Lake Ontario with his wife and children . He pursued a pilots license and graduated from aviation ground school January 23, 1979. He discovered he was diabetic and was unable to "buy his plane" so he decided to take up golf. Golf soon became his passion and he was one of the Rochester Area Senior Club Champions in 1999 at Victor Hill Club. He was always very proud of his achievement on the golf course particularly since he didn't start golfing until later in life. His other passion was his automobiles! He always kept them sparkling and love to drive. He finally got his dream car ( a red corvette convertible ) in June, 2006. He loved that car! He loved to travel and he and his wife Beverly traveled during the winters (Snowbirds) in their 5th wheeler. When his wife became ill, and they had to stop traveling, he was a loving and devoted husband and was her caregiver for her last 3 years of her life. She passed away on August 29, 2006. He loved life! He cherished every day and loved to be active. He was very proud and honored to be a lifetime member of the 82nd Airborne Division Association of the Greater Rochester Area. Their camaraderie meant a great deal to him. He was very active with this group and enjoyed the service projects that they partipated in. He had just started to enjoy his life again and had found someone to share his interests of traveling and dancing when his time was cut short. He was dearly loved by all who knew him. He was a loving and devoted husband, father and friend and will be sadly missed by all.



Donations

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Diabetes Assn., 595 Blossom Rd. Suite 208, Rochester, NY 14610 or Rochester General Hospital, 1425 Portland Ave., Rochester, NY 14617 in Bob's Memory.



Services

BARTOLOMEO PEROTTO Funeral Home, Inc. 1411 Vintage Lane (between 390 Long Pond Rd.) where Bob's visitation will be on Friday May 25, 2007 from 4-8 PM. All are invited to attend Bob's Funeral Mass on Saturday at 11:15 AM at Holy Cross Church (Lake Ave.) Interment Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.