John Gray Passes On

Steve calls with news that John Gray passed away. From the DMTC Master Cast List, here is his record of DMTC contributions:

California has lost one of the best Landscape Designers. John (Jay) Gray passed away Jan. 18, 2013, at Modesto Memorial Hospital after a month’s battle with infectious diseases and kidney failure.

John was born in Oakland on Feb. 19, 1947, to John and Maryann Gray of Sonora. Raised in Sonora, he graduated from Sonora High School in 1964, and went on to graduate from UC Davis in 1969 with a degree in plant science.

His father’s ancestry was Scottish and John spent summers in the ’80s getting to know the people of Scotland and their gardens. He conducted garden tours there and in Ireland, and also managed to get in an occasional round of golf and dip a fly line in one of the many famous streams. He often said that “Going back to Scotland every summer was like going home, a déjà vu of sorts. Everything became more alive and recent and I enjoyed every moment.” He will be missed by his friends here and across the pond.

He leaves two sons, Jedidiah of Washington, D.C., and Zachary of Manteca, and a daughter Isabel of Manteca; sister Janice Moon of San Andreas; and cousin Lynn Bahten of Jamestown. Also living are his three former wives; Sue Gray of Davis, Anne Lincoln of Davis and Rebecca Gray of Ceres.