Obituary of Robert G. Gray
Robert G. Gray, 77, passed away Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022, at the Center for Hope Hospice in Scotch Plains, N.J., after a long battle with cancer. Born in Elizabeth, N.J., he was a lifelong resident of the Plainfield area, a Jersey boy all the way.
Bob was a three-sport athlete at Plainfield H.S. and, after graduating in 1963, enrolled in evening classes at Rutgers University. He was drafted into the Army in 1965 and served in Korea from 1966 to 1968. Among his duties in the military, he was a member of the Army Corps color guard. After his discharge, he secured a position at Plainfield City Hall in the engineering department and later became a Principal Engineer in charge of road reconstruction. He held this post until his retirement.
Bob enjoyed many sports. He was a high-scoring bowler and ace pool player (shark), but his main love was golf. He played regularly at the Oak Ridge and Ash Brook courses, often winning many friendly wagers.
From an early age, he was also an enthusiastic and dedicated student of Nature. A talented photographer, he spent many hours in the Watchung Reservation taking pictures of water birds and other local denizens of Surprise Lake and the surrounding woods. This interest in birds also led to many years of volunteer work (20 years) at the Raptor Trust, a wild bird rescue and rehabilitation center in Millington, N.J. Another of his favorite pastimes was surf fishing for striped bass at his parents’ oceanside home in Holgate on LBI.
