- Date Of Birth: December 27, 1936
- Date Of Death: June 7, 2016
- State: Illinois
Ronald E. “Ron” Gray, 79, of Jacksonville, IL passed away Tuesday, June 7, 2016, at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, IL.
Ron was born in Salina, KS, on December 27, 1936, the son of Clarence and Mary Gray. Ron graduated from Sacred Heart High School in Salina and attended Kansas Wesleyan University before beginning a long career in radio station management. He worked in sales in Salina and then North Platte, Nebraska before moving to Springfield to manage the WMAY radio station. In 1968, he moved his family to Jacksonville to manage WJIL radio and began an almost 50-year love affair with the Jacksonville community.
It’s hard to name an organization or community event that Ron didn’t become involved with during his career and retirement. While at the radio station he was active in American Business Club, served the Chamber of Commerce as chairman of the Comprehensive Planning Committee, CACHE campaign and other committees, Central Park Plaza Association, and Chapin Big Country Days. He received numerous honors for his work including Jaycees Boss of the Year, American Business Club National Project Manager of the Year, Illinois College Distinguished Service Award, Friend of the Theatre Award, and most recently elected a Rotary Club Paul Harris Fellow and the Chamber Circle of Excellence Award.
After retiring from WJIL, he managed the Holiday Inn in Jacksonville and served on the Jacksonville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Board. It was that involvement that led to the establishment of the Grierson Society and General Grierson Civil War Days, a tourism attraction that brought visitors to the area for 20 years. He received the first Friend of Tourism award from the Bureau.
Ron’s passion for history led to many other community projects, including the Save the Wheel committee that brought the Ferris wheel to Community Park, helping to establish the Woodlawn Farm Underground Railroad site and Jacksonville Parks Foundation, and the restoration of the Historic Bandstands at Prairie Land and Community Park. He loved old houses, antique cars, radios, and circus toys, riding his scooter around Jacksonville and Marco Island, FL, and driving his “bucket list” 2002 Camaro convertible. He cherished his friends and family and took great pleasure in the accomplishments of his five grandsons and his only granddaughter, who teasingly called him Papa Pufferfish, and the joy of a new generation of great grandbabies to spoil.
Ron is survived by his wife, Mary Riley Gray of Jacksonville; his son, Stuart Gray of Jacksonville; his daughter, Sherri Gray Bergschneider (Greg) of Bloomington; his stepchildren, Chris Green (Cheryl) Arlington, VA, and Brenda Green Cunningham (Bob), Springfield; his six grandchildren, Paul Cody Gray (Sara) of Jacksonville, Brady Bergschneider and Brandon Bergschneider (Ashley) of Bloomington, Michael and Connor Cunningham of Springfield, and Elena Green, Arlington, VA; and four great-grandchildren, Bentley, Kennedy, and Hadley Gray and Parker Bergschneider. He is also survived by his sister, Patricia Marcotte of Topeka, KS, and four nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Betty Jane Gray; and his first wife, Joyce Knudsen Gray.
