Gordon Gray

 Gordon and granddaughter Isabella

One of the things that has stood out for me in doing these biographies is the self sacrifice of many of our classmates. Doing for others seems to be common.

Gordon Gray is no exception.

Gordon was a history buff in high school, winning high scores in the Kent State Scholarship competition.  Gordon was also very active in the Boy Scouts of American.  Jerry Eicher's father George was his scoutmaster.

After graduating from Girard High School he attended Salem Collage in Salem WV where he graduated with a BA in Human Relations in 1964. He had the idea of possibly making a career with the Boy Scout Movement.

While in college Gordon met and married his wife Judy. They were married in June of 1964.

The spirit of self sacrifice was present in both of them and the two joined the Peach Corps together and spent 3 years in Tanzania. Gordon served as a primary school teacher while Judy became a librarian at the national library.

The Grays lived in the capital of Tanzania, Dar es Salam.  They got to know many Europeans who were working on various projects in Tanzania.  They also developed many local friends among the Africans.

"We met a lot of good people from both cultures," Gordon says.  They stayed have stayed in touch with friends from both cultures through the years.

On the way home the Grays traveled through ,Africa, the middle east , and Europe.  From Tanzania they went to other African countries including Ethiopia and Egypt.   "We traveled on our own. I would feel safe to walk around anywhere I was," Gordon explains. "Today one would not dare just walk freely in Ethiopia, for example.  I have a friend who dons a traditional hooded robe so as to blend in when he visits today," he adds.

From Egypt the Grays went to Israel.  "There was a lot of action in the streets. We toured a bit and then left for Greece.  The 6 day war began shortly after we left," Gordon says.

The landed in Greece only to wake up one day in the middle of a the Military Coup that occurred in 1967.  "It was like out of the frying pan and into the fire," Gordon jokes. "Calm came to the country quickly and we continued with our touring.  We did not speak Greek so did not realize fully what had happened until we got to Rome and could read about it in the papers," he adds.

The couple continued touring in Italy, France and England where they met up with friends they had met in Tanzania.

After returning from the Peace Corps Gordon and Judy came to Syracuse NY. where Gordon entered the Graduate School at Syracuse University. Judy became a librarian at Nottingham High School in the Syracuse City School District.

Gordon received Masters Degree and an abd on a PHD in Social Sciences.  An abd means all but dissertation which is necessary for the full PHD.

“I taught at Cazenovia Collage for one year,” Gordon says.  “But while I enjoyed teaching in Tanzania I found I did not enjoy teaching here.”  Gordon went on to explain that the kids he taught in Africa were appreciative of the opportunity to learn.  He found it was not so at Cazenovia College.

Judy and Gordon enjoyed living in central New York . They stayed there with Judy continuing to work at Nottingham and Gordon went into construction, leaving the intellectual life for a life of working with his hands.

One must remember that Gordon’s father was a shop teacher at Girard High School.  He passed away when Gordon was just a lad but obviously Gordon inherited the talent to work with wood.  Gordon later moved from general construction to architectural restoration which he continued until he retired.

Gordon graduated into Museum quality restorations of what is termed Mission furniture.  He would buy and restore various pieces and sell them at a group shop.  “Now I mostly collect and sell furniture made by J .M. Young of Camden N.Y.  Young’s furniture is very popular,” Gordon says.

Judy and Gordon bought a house in the historic district in the village Manlius NY .The house was built about 1810.  “Over the years we have restored, repainted ,re-roofed, insulated ,and re-wired the entire house, ”Gordon says. “It is a two family house. When my mother, Theresa, retired from teaching , she moved into one side of our house. (Theresa was 96 last Oct. and now is in a nursing home.)

In 1994 Gordon and Judy discovered the many famous public walking trails in England as a result of visiting British Friends they had met in Tanzania.  Going on walking holidays became a passion for them each year.  England has these walking paths that are more than a thousand years old. As the countryside developed, British law protected the original right away for the original trail.  They are open to the public today and span hundreds of miles all over the island.

A daughter, Ameena, was born to the Grays in 1969. Today she lives and works near Hartford CT. Ameena’s daughter Isabella was born in 2006.

Sadly, Gordon’s wife Judy passed away in 2006 after 4 years of aggressive cancer treatment for had Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Gordon has had a Malignant Melanoma removed from his forehead four and a half years ago as well.

Today Gordon continues the tradition of walking holidays in the English countryside. They walk from hotel to hotel averaging 6-8 miles per day.

In thinking back on high school Gordon says “the GHS class that influenced me the most over the last 50 years was Miss Ebingner’s class on non Euclidian geometry .It showed me that if you change your basic assumptions you can think in new directions.”

Gordon, I look forward to renewing our acquaintanceship.  I am only sorry that Judy will not be there as well. It sounds like she was quite a woman.  Ed