The Dalles Chronicle, The Dalles, OR., June 24, 1996, page 2
Includes portrait
DONALD H. GRAY
Donald H. Gray, a resident of Dallesport, died June 19,
1956 at his home. He was 73.
He was born Feb. 19, 1923 in Oklahoma City, Okla., the
first of three sons to Herman and Hester Gray. The family traveled extensively
with the father's work, and by the time Donald graduated from Beaumont High
School in St. Louis, Mo., and age 16, he had lived in all of the states.
His family moved to Vancouver, Wash. following his high
school graduation and he began a career as an ironworker. In August of 1942,
he joined the Navy and shipped out to the South Pacific, and during the course
of World War II he served on several ships, two of which were attacked and
sank. He saved the life of an officer by dragging him out of the bowels of
the ship and was awarded commendations for that act, as well as other acts
of heroism.
In October of 1943 he married Betty Jane Fine of Camas,
Wash.
After the war, they settled in Washougal, Wash. He was
employed at the Crown Zellerbach paper mill in Camas for two-plus years,
and then returned to iron-work. For the next 42 years, he built bridges,
powerhouses, and dams along the Columbia River from Astoria to the Lower
Granite Dam. He also worked on projects in California, Idaho, Wyoming, Georgia
and South Carolina, moving temporarily to the last three states for the duration
of the jobs.
A pilot for part of his life, he owned a 1942 Aercoupe,
which he flew in his spare time. During his two children's younger years,
he coached Little League in Lyle.
After his retirement in 1989, he and his wife returned
to Dallesport where he kept busy with his lawn and gardens, helping his neighbors
and serving on the Dallesport Community Council.
He was also a member of the Lyle Full Gospel Church and
was Senior Warden of the Masonic Lodge #31 in Goldendale.
Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Betty Gray of
Dallesport; his mother, Hester Hendrix of San Pablo, Calif.; his brothers:
Alan Gray of Germany and Roy Gray of Dalles, Texas; a daughter, Teleia Cunningham
of Dallesport; a daughter-in-law: Nancy Gray of Mt. Pleasant, S.C.;
grandchildren: Adam and Erin of Dallesport and Ian and Echo of Cornelius;
four great grandchildren; nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his father, Herman, and his
son, Daniel.
Viewing and visitation will be at Smith Callaway Chapel
on Tuesday, June 25 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Funeral services will
be Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Lyle Full Gospel Assembly of God church, with
pastors Les Haarstad and Bobby Beauchamp. Graveside services will follow
at Balch Cemetery in Lyle.
Memorials have been suggested to the American Heart
Association in care of Smith Callaway Chapel, 311 Union, The Dalles, Ore.
97058.
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© Jeffrey L. Elmer