William Eugene Gray

Bill was born in Decatur, Illinois, the 4th child of Earl and Eileen Joplin Gray. As a child, Bill raced Soap Box Derby cars, was a boy scout, a solid student, and a basketball player. He went to Central College in McPherson, Kansas, where he met his first love, Marvelyn (Marvie) Fay Kaufman. In 1967 they graduated from Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois and were married. Bill and Marvie were involved in music ministry, Bible quizzing, Faith at Work,Youth for Christ and other regional ministry. In 1970 Bill completed his M.A. in Religion at Asbury Seminary and then returned to Decatur and helped run Gray and Sons, a waste hauling business. Two sons, Marvin Earl and Marc William, mysteriously arrived on the scene in Decatur. After a 1973 move to Kansas, the McPherson County Landfill and Waste Management Systems were also born! Bill and the kids joined Marvie and the Kaufman Family in a touring musical group humbly called “The Chosen Ones” (8 track tapes available)! To avoid boredom, he also started a demolition company, real estate rentals, and taught Psychology at Central College. A member of McPherson Free Methodist Church, Bill served on the Mission Committee, helped with youth and music ministry, and made life-long friends. The family enjoyed travel, camping, skiing, singing, Bible Quizzing, worshiping and working together with family and friends. Bill and Marvie sold the business in 1987 and went to the Dominican Republic where he taught school, ran a conference center, and worked as a business director. Bill coordinated over 27 construction and outreach teams through the years. During these years Bill also got his teaching certificate at Emporia State University and renovated 3 houses in Emporia and California. They came back to the US in 1998 for medical care. Bill survived cancer but soon thereafter Marvie did not and passed in 2001 at age 57. Bill soon met Shirley Arneson and they were married in Seattle in 2002. Together they served in missions in the Philippines, Mozambique, Mexico, Columbia, Costa Rica, Thailand, Uruguay and in Nogales, Arizona where they were volunteer missionaries with the Free Methodist Church for 2 years. While in Nogales, they found their winter home in Green Valley, Arizona and moved there in 2006. Summers were spent at Warm Beach Camp, Stanwood, WA for 7 years and thereafter at Ancora Village in Everett, WA, a community for people retired from ministry. Along with world travel and missions work, Bill enjoyed playing cards, golfing, making jewelry, and visiting friends and family. He and Shirley attended Evangelical Free Church of Green Valley, AZ. Bill was a problem solver who never saw a handyman or construction project he didn’t like! He helped many of us with renovations. A man of action even at 80, he was cutting down trees while working on a property he loved north of Spokane, WA, when he was stung by bees. His allergies overcame his medicine and he passed August 1, 2024. Bill is survived by his wife Shirley, brother Arden Gray, sisters Carolyn Gray Kinneman and Shirley Curfman (Manny Stucki); son Marc and son Marvin (Julie), and their children and grandchildren Maria (Ethan) Goodnight [Russell], Daniel (Alyssa Gray)[Isaac], Rachel and Emmanuel Terrell, and Melody Gray; and Shirley's children and grandchildren Eric (CarlaRae) Arneson [Brittany, Blake, Levi], Sam (Carina) Martin [Jonathan, Dustin], and Seth Arneson of Everett, WA. And of course many other dearly-loved nieces, nephews, cousins, extended family and friends. Visitation will be 6-8 p.m. Friday, August 9, 2024 at Glidden-Ediger-Wiggins Chapel, McPherson. Graveside service will be 10:00 a.m., Saturday, August 10, 2024 at McPherson Cemetery. Memorial gifts can be made to one of Bill's passions, Free Methodist Bible Quizzing: FMCUSA Attn: Laura Christensen Colberg 17750 33rd Avenue NE Lake Forest Park WA 98155 Memo: Bible Quiz https://givefmcusa.org/donation/df-fmbq-director

William Eugene Gray

December 20, 1943 - August 1, 2024