Gray, Donald Lowell 1924-2010
GRAY, SHELDON, MILLER, JENNINGS, MELBY, LARE, LAGUNA
Posted By: Joy Moore (email)
Date: 9/3/2012 at 12:48:26
Always the gracious gentleman, Donald Lowell Gray, age 85, died on April 1, 2010, at Aase Haugen Home in Decorah, Iowa where he resided for the past six months.
Memorial Services will be held at 11:00 A.M. Thursday, April 8, 2010 at First United Methodist Church in Decorah by Rev. Carol A. Kress.
Visitation will be from 5:00-7:00 P.M. Wednesday, April 7 at Fjelstul Funeral Home in Decorah and on Thursday one hour before the service at the church.
Donald was born on Easter, April 20, 1924, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to John Harold and Blanche Lucille Sheldon Gray. He attended Cedar Rapids schools where he was involved in sports and boy scouts. He graduated from Franklin High School in 1942. He attended Coe College for one semester before beginning his service in the 69th Army Air Force in 1943. He was sent to Reed College in Portland, Oregon for one year of premeteorological training. He continued serving in the Army Air Force and Office of Strategic Services until his discharge in 1946.
A 60-year resident of Decorah, Don arrived in 1950 as a new graduate of Iowa State College’s architecture program. While there, he was a member of the honorary fraternity Tau Sigma Delta. He began a 45-year career as a project architect with the Charles Altfillisch firm, through advancement and partnership opportunities it became the firm of Olson, Gray, Thompson, and Lynnes. Don’s architectural mark in Decorah is seen in his design of Luther College’s Faith and Life Center, the Preus Library, the Centennial Union addition, the president’s residence, and other commercial and private residences in northeastern Iowa. He also leaves a lasting legacy at Gilmore Lake, Wisconsin with his design of the Miller family cabin.
Will Bunge presented the Distinguished Service Award Citation at Luther College in 1977 to Don. His speech included: "The years of planning for a major building project exposes the character and personality of the architect very clearly to those who work with him. This exposure revealed Don Gray to be a person who gives definition to the title gentleman, a genuinely gentle man. Other characteristics which come quickly to mind are careful listening to others and such openness to the ideas and sensitivity to them that he gives better shape to their ideas than they conceived. Architects bear a special responsibility for shaping the environment in which we all live. The shapes which result shape our lives. The buildings which Don Gray has designed for Luther College are successful shapes and spaces filled with inspiration, delight and promise."
Don brought to Decorah a strong commitment to community and its surrounding environment. He served on the Decorah Parks and Recreation board and received a Distinguished Service Award from the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce. Other areas of service were serving as president of Decorah Toastmasters Club, local chairman of the National Foundation for Polio and as an Area Management Board Director of the Home Savings and Loan Association. In addition, Don taught engineering for a year at Luther College.
Don helped to develop the Nor Ski Runs ski slope. His consistent presence on Decorah’s bike, ski, and hiking trails showed not only Don’s love of the outdoors, but his appreciation for Decorah’s natural resources and beauty. He travelled with sketchbook, camera, and artist field box when he explored national parks, organized legendary canoe trips, and set up camp sites from Iowa to California. Don's many sketches and watercolors are a glimpse of the natural world as seen through his artistic eye.
Always the subtle storyteller, Don’s stories of growing up and being away during the war were rich in detail and experience. From the train trip he took as a child to visit an aunt in California to the Turkey River camp-outs and exploring the Orient and Europe, Don’s stories left a lasting picture of fun and adventure with family and friends.
Don and Marguerite Ann Miller (Nan) were married on August 27, 1948 at the First Presbyterian Church in La Crosse, Wisconsin. A team for 61 years, through daily activities and example Nan and Don defined what it means to be a couple, parents, grandparents, and friends. Don’s love of family was seen through the daily gestures of playing games in the side lot, spending time with an art project, or sharing a favorite dessert with his children and grandchildren. His willingness to thread another movie through the projector or to build another sand castle not only brought pleasure to others, but highlighted the role model that he was. Don's enjoyment came from sharing moments of hospitality with family and friends, walking to the Whippy Dip with his grandchildren, and sharing a bike trail with Nan. He brought wit, charm, and kindness to all settings. He will be greatly missed.
Don was preceded in death by parents, Blanche and John Gray and sister, Dorothy Joan Jennings. He is survived by his wife, Nan; children, Kathy Melby (Steve), Des Moines; Steven Gray (Shahar), Montana; Rich Gray (Kay), Minneapolis; grandchildren, Melissa Lare (fiance Tim), Keegan Lare, David Melby, Sheldon Gray, Addison Gray (Vanessa), Mara Gray, Ella Gray, and sister, Jeannine (Jay) Laguna, Loveland, Colorado.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to WMC Hospice, 901 Montgomery Street, Decorah, IA 52101, Winneshiek County Community Foundation, Trout Run Trail Fund, P.O. Box 1176, Waterloo, IA 50704, Friends of Decorah Public Library, 202 Winnebago Street, Decorah, IA 52101, Aase Haugen Home, 4 Ohio Street, Decorah, IA 52101, First United Methodist Church, 302 West Broadway, Decorah, IA 52101, or the charity of your choice.
Source: Fjelstul Funeral Home database
Phelps Cemetery
Winneshiek Obituaries maintained by Bruce Kuennen.
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