Thomas Gray

Thomas Moore Gray, 74, died peacefully at his home in Durango, Colorado on April 22, 2014.
Thomas Moore Gray was born in Nashville, Tenn. on August 14, 1940 to Lawrence Houston Gray and Hilda Moore Gray. The family moved to Des Moines, Iowa in 1950, and Tom lived there until graduating from Drake University, where he was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. Tom had a varied career. He taught college in Canton, Ill., earned a Master’s degree in Asian Studies from the University of Chicago. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he was a reporter for the Chicago Sun Times newspaper, where he covered civil rights and urban affairs. After that, he served as the executive director of the Fair Housing Center / Home Investment Fund. He then spent a decade in the investment industry working for Paine Webber and Smith Barney. He moved to Durango in 1990, and his time here was the happiest of his life. In Durango, he worked at Purgatory Ski Resort for several years in a variety of capacities. He later established Four Corners Vacuum Sales and Repair. He was known in S.A.S.S. circles as Dos Equis and was a member of the Durango Wheel Club. Tom is survived by his 3 children; Emily Gray of Chicago, Ill., Jonathan Gray of Chicago, Ill., and Stephen Gray of Great Falls, Virg., a brother, Larry Gray of Taos, New Mex., and a cat named Abigail.
Cremation will occur and there will be a memorial service for Tom at Hood Mortuary Chapel on Saturday, April 26, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. Mr. Earl Caudill will officiate.