Frederick Wilson Gray

Frederick Wilson “Fred” Gray, 70, a resident of Colechester Rd in the City of Virginia Beach, died on 3 Mar 2016 at 9:45 a.m., surrounded by his wife and close friends. He fought a long, painful battle with sarcoma caused by Agent Orange exposure when he served in Vietnam as a young officer during 1969-1970. Born 19 Oct 1945 at Chelsea Naval Medical Center, Charlestown, Suffolk, MA, to the late Fred W. Gray and Marjorie Rose (nee Jacobs), he was the middle of three children. While attending Princess Anne High School, he turned his energy toward sports where he excelled in pole vaulting and football, graduating in the Class of 1964 when he was the co-captain of the football team that won the State Championship. Some of his teammates have kept in touch for 50 years, such as Butch Seery, Ben Hubbard, Craig Honour, Charlie Carr, and everyone’s best friend, James C. “Jim” Clarke, who has been like a brother to Fred. Fred attended Guilford College in North Carolina on a football scholarship and graduated in 1968 with a B.S. in Economics. Following graduation, he joined the USMC where he attended Officer Candidate School at Quantico, Virginia, and deployed to Vietnam where he served a year in Motor Transport. For his service in Vietnam, he was presented the Navy Commendation Medal for meritorious service. After the service, Fred returned to Virginia Beach where he met and married Diane K. Mason on 10 Aug 1974 in Chesapeake. Interested in sports and youth, Fred combined his interests and worked for the Boy Scouts of America and subsequently for the Boys Club in Norfolk. He helped to open and manage the Boys Club facility in Virginia Beach near Mt. Trashmore. When his father-in-law, Douglas F. Mason, became ill, Fred masterfully took over management of the family business, North Bay Shore Campground. There he met many wonderful people, sometimes four generations of family campers, and he became friends with many, who have become his extended family. Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Diane Mason Gray; his mother, Marjorie Rose (nee Jacobs) Clukey (Roger) of Vero Beach, FL; a brother, Richard A. Gray (Sheila) of North Las Vegas, NV; a brother-in-law, Douglas Y. Mason of Lenoir, NC; a niece, Mary Hume Hickerson Gouch (Charles) of Norfolk, VA; a nephew, Michael A. D’Annolfo (Alicia) of Rockport, MA; twin nieces, April Mason Harris (Tony) and Samantha Mason Beckham of Lenoir, NC. He is survived by nine grand nieces and nephews: Bryan Mullis of CA; Wesley Orman of VA; Daisy Beckham and Darren Mason of NC; Easton, EmmaGrace, and Ella Kate Harris of NC; and Trevor and Kaitlyn D’Annolfo of MA. Fred was very close to his mother-in-law, Dolly (Higgerson) Mason and his late father-in-law, Douglas F. Mason, as well as the family of the late Raymond Clarke and Christine, his wife, of Somerset, NJ, with whom Fred lived during summers in college. Fred’s father, Fred Wilson Gray, died on 9 Jan 1991 in Lompoc, CA, and his sister, Patricia Lee (Gray) D’Annolfo, died 14 Nov 1991 in Stoneham, MA. Fred’s beloved pet Maltese, Bianca, died on 31 Jul 2015, which saddened him immensely, but the arrival in November 2015 of a new Maltese puppy, Button, entertained and comforted him during his illness. A memorial service will be held in the chapel at Smith & Williams Funeral Home at 4889 Princess Anne Road in Virginia Beach at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 8th. The cremains will be interred at Rosewood Memorial Park at a later date. The family requests that memorial donations be made to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center or a charity of your choice. Please make checks to MSK, PO Box 27106, NY, NY 10087, or go to their website www.giving.mskcc.org to make a secure donation online. There are too many people to thank for all they did during Fred’s three-year illness, but the family especially recognizes Sonny and Sherry Alicie of Linden, VA; Elsa and Thayne Parr of Virginia Beach; Fred Weigle of Virginia Beach; Debbie (Gray) Stillwagen of Chesapeake; Regina B. Butler of Virginia Beach; and Charles Pefley of Virginia Beach for their exceptional support during this difficult time. Not to be forgotten, we thank the Virginia Beach Sentara Hospice House nurses, Anne Reddy, M.D., and the caregivers from SeniorCorps, all of whom helped make this time less painful for Fred and his family. Fred will be remembered for his smile, good humor, selfless love, and kindness to all. He loved his family, friends, and country. Semper fi.