Teacher Albert (Bert) Gray died in the Bay area in 1978. He was a great biology teacher. Encouraged us to stand up to authority.
Information courtesy of Timothy Bogan
In Memory
Mr. Albert Gray
Teacher Albert (Bert) Gray died in the Bay area in 1978. He was a great biology teacher. Encouraged us to stand up to authority.
Information courtesy of Timothy Bogan
Mark Leonas
Bert and I kept up a relationship beyond Rich East. One spring day he showed up at my dorm at Lawrence and we went out for a few beers. Bert graduated from Lawrence also and was one reason I chose to go there.
A few years later, he showed up in Besancon, France, where Gladstone and I werel living the good life. He had been touring Africa and we headed off to Eastern Europe, with a goal of getting to Moscow. After making our way through Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, Romania, and Hungary, he experienced some prolonged abdominal discomfort and so we returned to Zurich where his old high school love Lynn took him in.
After I returned to the USA, I last saw him with Lynn at McDonald's in Matteson. They were headed to San Francisco. Bert was always a great adventurer and I learned a lot more from him besides biology!
Dan Hier
No doubt about it, Bert Gray was an Anmerican Original. No one quite like him in my life. I learned to drive a manual transmission car driving his VW Microbus--rear engine air cooled. Every time I make a downshift I think of him. So generous and so modest, a rare combination. A human first, a teacher second, a biologist third.
Jeremy Gladstone
The last time I saw Bert Gray was in 1971, when he came to see me in Besançon, France. Mark Leonas was also here. Bert stayed for a few weeks and we had a great time. He had a VW camper and he and Mark went off through Switzerland to Hungary in it. Mark came back and Bert did later. As I remember, his steady drummer's tune was "what shall I do next?", and that's what kept him going. No fancy or complicated theories, just a few sardonic remarks from a loyal friend. A French friend who met him during his visit recently brought it up. Fondest of memories.Rebecca (Becky) Finley (Striggow)
What wonderful memories you've provided. Each one fleshed him out a little more,proving that there was so much more to this man than biology. Thank you. I hope more people post. Becky Finley Striggow
Bob Cooper (Cooper)
One of the best experiences of my life was a trip to Boundary Waters with Bert and several other classmates. I will never forget the trip, and always be grateful for Bert's leadership.
Bob Cooper
Patricia McGourty (Palmer)
We all have wonderful memories of Bert, how he smiled when any of us came into his biology room whether we were taking his class - or not
I had the pleasure of hosting Bert and Lyn for a time in my loft n NYC in the early 70s after they came back from India. I loved seeing New York thru their eyes.
I think he was a blessing to all of us in the weird wonderful 60s.
With love, Patricia McGourty
Dan Hier
Thanks for posting Patricia. It's hard to believe that it has been 42 years since Bert Gray died. So many of our teachers were extraordinary people who had the capability of changing our lives. My father was on the school board of District 163 (not our HS)--he told my sister that in the hey day of Park Forest District 163 they had thousands of teacher applications for all over the USA and that we had the pick of the litter as to teachers. They were all gifted and special. My high school teachers were each in their own way the most influential people in my life: Madame Alfille, Bert Gray, Mr. Polancyak, Lou Schmitt, Al Lightner, Keith Runyon--and many others--they were all wonderful and life-changing for me.
Timothy Bogan
The date in the introduction to this In Memory isn't correct. Bert died in 1985.
In and out of his biology class, Bert introduced me to many things, homemade ice cream made from ingredients gotten on a "scavenger" hunt, canoeing, skiing, lively conversation.
Mark Leonas
Tim, glad to hear you're still arouund and remebering Bert. Where do you live? I've had a few zoom gathering wtih Gladstone, Iliff, Mooney , andFriedman. It would be great if you could join us!
Judith Higgins (Varley)
Mark Leonis, I live in Okotoks, Alberta, just 30km south of Calgary. Again, I so remember Mr. Gray. I remember being the first one in the class to offer my finger for a blood test, and disecting fish, frogs, etc. So many great teachers at Rich, and he was one of them.