Daniel Gray

passed away October 6th at the age of 93 in Greenwood Village, Colorado, after a month-long illness. Mr. Gray was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on June 30th, 1917, the son of G.C. Gray and Eleanor Benton Gray. He graduated from Louisville Male High School and, due to his father's early death and the Depression, began work immediately thereafter to support his family. As a young man, he became interested in flying and saved what little money he could to take lessons in biplanes. Acquiring this skill proved prescient and led to his career and his wife. In the immediate wake of Pearl Harbor, Mr. Gray enlisted in the Army and was sent to officer training. His ability as an aviator led to assignment as an officer in the Army Air Corps—the predecessor of the US Air Force. The Army Air Corps assigned him to its training command and he spent the war at various posts in the West—California, Roswell, New Mexico, and finally Lowry Field in Denver—as an instructor, principally in B-17's and B-29's, rising to the rank of Captain. One of his close comrades during his Lowry days was the late Brig. Gen. J.B. Upton of Dothan, Alabama, who was dating (and later married) Virginia Hastings. They introduced Mr. Gray to her step-sister, JoAnne Hastings, a graduate of The University of Colorado. On April 29th, 1946, Daniel and JoAnne Gray were married at Montview Presbyterian Church in Denver. With a very brief exception (Tulsa), they resided in Denver thereafter. Mr. Gray joined Denver-based Continental Airlines upon discharge from service and remained with them throughout his career. He initially flew DC-3's from Denver to Kansas City or El Paso with numerous stops along the way; as later aircraft were brought into the fleet he flew them, too, and eventually became a captain on 747's and DC-10's, flying to Hawaii. During the late 1960's he flew soldiers to Okinawa, the Philippines, and several bases in Vietnam as part of a contract that Continental had with the Military Air Command. Mr. Gray retired—reluctantly, due to FAA age requirements—in 1977. Until his recent illness, he enjoyed robust health. He was a keen reader and he loved the mountains, the changing sky, and Colorado. In his later years he wrote piquant, insightful, mock pedantic letters on his favorite topics: aviation, meteorology, natural history, and economic conditions, often salted with pithy admonitions. At times these rose to poetry, as in this effort of his 91st year: With a broad brush God paints the sky With white and wispy clouds, and then With wind he wipes the canvas dry, Making it blue again. Mr. Gray was preceded in death by a sister, Gladys Jorgenson, and a brother, Allan Gray, both of Louisville. He is survived by his wife, JoAnne Gray of Denver; two sons, Daniel Allan Gray (Lili) of Downers Grove, Illinois, and Robert Byrd Gray (Diane) of Denver; and two grandchildren, Anne M. Gray of St. Louis and 2nd Lt. Andrew Byrd Gray of The United States Marine Corps.