Lawrence J. Gray

Lawrence J. "Larry" Gray, age 79, died peacefully May 5, 2018 at his home in Fairfield Township.  He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Rita, his two children, Suzanne and Robert, and Robert's wife Andrea.  He also leaves a sister, Renee (Timothy), and many loved nieces and nephews.

The son of Joseph and Betty Gray, Larry was a native of Detroit, MI and a proud graduate of Cody High School, where he excelled in football and track.  In 1961 he began his career with the S.S. Kresge Corporation and moved through the ranks from stock boy, to management trainee, assistant manager, store manager, district manager, and senior buyer of menswear.  He retired in 1995 as the Director of Softline Merchandise for K-Mart's Singapore division.  Throughout his long career, he and his family lived in four states and two countries, and were able to travel extensively in the US and around the world.

In retirement, Larry cultivated a variety of new hobbies and continued to travel.  One of his great loves was to chop down unruly shrubs, and beyond meticulously maintaining his own yard and those of his children, he spent a number of years working at Home Depot caring for plants in the garden center during the growing season.  He investigated his family's genealogy, golfed with Rita in a neighborhood league, read and listened to audio books on an astonishing variety of topics, and became a home wine maker.  He won numerous awards for his wines, and in 2005 started a neighborhood wine group, The Corkers.  The Corkers continue to meet regularly and many treasured memories and friendships were created.

Over the past five years, Larry was an active participant in the Institute for Learning in Retirement (ILR), a non-credit, non-profit program for senior learners offered through Miami University.  As a lifelong learner, Larry participated enthusiastically in a wide variety of classes on topics that expanded well beyond his usual interests and served on the curriculum committee.  Although he had never taught before, he took a leap and began researching, writing, and presenting his own classes on topics that interested him, with titles ranging from The History of Bread to his most recent class, The American Car Culture, which concluded last week.  To honor his memory, please step outside your comfort zone and read or listen to a good book on a topic you had never considered, or take a class to learn something new.

Memorial Service at Mueller Funeral Home, 6791 Tylersville Road, Mason, OH 45040 on Saturday, May 12, 2018 at 1:00 PM. Reception gathering to follow in the Mueller Family Center.

In lieu of flowers, please consider furthering the mission of the Institute for Learning in Retirement (ILR) in honor of Larry. Donations (payable to Miami University) may be sent to:
Miami University ILR
106 MacMillan Hall
531 E. Spring Street
Oxford, OH 45056
Donations can also be made online at: http://miamioh.edu/global-initiatives/continuing-ed/ilr/about/support-us/index.html

To send a condolence, visit MuellerfuneralS.com  513-398-9100