Gray, William Robert “Robin” - 1948-2021

DUKE, GRAY, MEREDITH, NUNEZ, REILEY

Posted By: Diana Wagner
Date: 5/2/2024 at 10:19:11

Robin Gray, 72, of Searsboro, passed away Friday evening, Sept. 24, 2021, surrounded by family at his home on his farm under hospice care. Funeral services will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 30, at Grinnell Friends Church. Burial will be held Friday, Oct. 1, at 2:30 p.m. at Lynnville Friends Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Grinnell Friends Church.
William Robert “Robin” Gray was born Dec. 5, 1948, to William and Mae Meredith Gray in Steubenville, OH. His family moved back to the family farm when Robin was a baby. Robin enjoyed running track and playing football in high school, graduating from Lynnville-Sully High School in 1967. He graduated from William Penn College in 1971 with a BA degree in biology. At Penn, he ran cross-country and track. In 1971, Robin enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, where he served as an officer and also ran on the Marine Corps track team. He was honorably discharged in 1974 and began working for Grinnell Reinsurance. Robin and Nancy Miller were united in marriage on Sept. 16, 1972, at Indianapolis, IN. They lived in the Grinnell and Washington, Iowa, areas where he served as a claims adjuster.
They are the parents of two daughters, Jennifer and Susie. In 1979, the family moved to their present heritage farm where they were still actively farming. Along with farming, Robin planted thousands of trees on their farm. He loved the outdoors and his family most of all. He enjoyed deer hunting, Canadian fishing trips, making maple syrup, and was a sport and travel enthusiast. Over the last decade, Robin found great joy in the challenge of running and hiking. He competed in many half and full marathons, including finishing 31st out of 5,668 in his age group at the Boston Marathon. In 2014, Robin completed hiking the Appalachian Trail.
Over the past five years, he hiked about 1,600 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail. Robin was a township trustee and an active member of the Grinnell Friends Church for nearly 50 years.
Robin is survived by his wife, Nancy of Searsboro; his daughters, Jennifer (Josh) Nunez of Cedar Falls and Susie (Jon) Duke of Grinnell; his grandchildren, Viviane, Valentina, Victor, and Veronica Nunez, and Weston Duke; his sister, Susan Reiley of Great Falls, MT; as well as many other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Stanley Gray.
Source: Hometown Press (Sully, IA); September 29, 2021