William H. Gray, Jr., age 79, passed away Saturday, May 13, 2023 at Ebeid Hospice in Sylvania. The son of William Sr. and Marjorie, he was born February 8, 1944 in Toledo. He was a 1962 graduate of Whitmer High School. He attended the University of Toledo before joining the U.S. Marine Corp. Bill served in Vietnam earning a Purple Heart, Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V" and Vietnam Service Medal with 3 bronze stars. Shortly after being honorably discharged, he joined the Toledo police force where served as an officer and was known as "Spiderman". Later he became a detective with SIU and worked on projects with the DEA, FBI and U.S. Marshals, retiring in 1996. Bill was a member of the Toledo Police Patrolmans' Association. He enjoyed fishing. In retirement, he worked security for two of the Olympics Games, the summer games in Atlanta and the winter games in Salt Lake City. Bill was an avid photographer, traveling with NASCAR for the former Winston Cup Scene magazine.
He is survived by his wife, Carol; daughters, Jodi (John Viola) Stopher, Kelly Gray; grandchildren, Trevor Stopher, Cory Viola, Andrew Davidson, Elizabeth Despain and Anthony Despain. He was preceded in death by his parents and three brothers.
The family will receive guest on Monday, May 22, 2023 from 2:00-7:00 p.m. at Newcomer Funeral Home-Northwest Chapel, 4150 W. Laskey Rd, Toledo (419-473-0300) with a service at 7:00 p.m.
Those wishing to make a memorial contribution are asked to consider Rose Reder Scholarship.
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