Lasting Memories

Richard Allen Wray
July 12, 1943-March 19, 2023
Reno, Nevada

Richard Allen Wray, age 79, of Reno Nevada passed away after a hard fought five year battle with cancer. He passed as he wanted to, in his home and surrounded by family.

Richard was born on July 12th, 1943 to parents Eva Dunbabbin and David Wray of Palo Alto, California.

Richard took over the family business, Shelton Roofing Co. Inc. of Mountain View, California in 1967 and ran it until recently. Richard also purchased several commercial properties and businesses in and around Reno, Nevada when he moved here in 2001. 

In 1967 Richard met and married Bernadette Grochowiak in Long Beach, California while he was attending Long Beach State and she had recently moved from Chicago, Illinois for work. They have two children, Erin Wray of Reno, Nevada and Heather Wray of Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Richard loved golf and semi-retirement, but was always working on a project of some kind. He has built a "kit car" that he drove around, constructed a second floor to a garage, doing all the work himself, enjoyed gardening, traveling and doing just about everything else he set his mind to. 

Richard is loved by so many people, from family and friends to former employees and even passing acquaintances. He was a kind, generous, loving, funny, smart and empathic person who was always available to help. Richard was willing to offer valuable and well thought out advice, whenever asked, which was often. He loved helping people, even while undergoing cancer treatment himself. While at MD Anderson, a cancer treatment Hospital in Houston, TX, he reached out to a stranger in an elevator who was also undergoing treatment and who was obviously in distress. He thought about others before himself and that generosity of spirit is a rare and beautiful quality. He possessed many such qualities and while obituaries usually outline the very best qualities in a person, this one could never be complete; he was such a wonderful person and words could never truly do him justice.

Richard is the youngest of 5 children, being survived by brothers David Wray of Bend, Oregon and Rodney Wray of Ashland, Oregon. His sisters Nancy Stilbert and Jeanne Bracken live in Portland, Oregon. Richard has two grandchildren, Chay Isquierdo and Ani Isquierdo, both of Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Richard wanted a small get together of family and friends, which will be held in the spring, his favorite season. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to The Food Bank of Northern Nevada or The Wounded Warrior.