Marvin L. Gray, Jr. (1945 – 2023)

 

Peter Freeman reported on March 27: "Our classmate Monty Gray passed away peacefully yesterday at his home in Tacoma WA, from a lymphoma. His passing was not unexpected as he was in hospice, but I had spoken to him by phone not long ago and he was in good spirits and seemed well. I gather he watched the NCAA sweet sixteen loss on Friday like many of the rest of us did, but ...."

 

Monty came to Princeton from Wakefield, VA and Episcopal High School. At Princeton, he joined Campus Club and majored in Mathematics. Professor Mason's "Coninterp" course, however, persuaded Monty to pursue a career in law. After graduating magna cum laude from Harvard, Monty went on to clerk for the Hon. Henry J. Friendly, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit and the Hon. Justice John M. Harlan, U.S. Supreme Court. Later, he served as a staff attorney for the Air Force and trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice. He later served with the Davis Wright Tremaine law firm and was active in community services.

 

Obituaries are available from the Seattle Times and from Legacy.com.

Biography Archived from the Davis Wright Tremaine Law Firm

Although Marvin (Monty) L. Gray, Jr. is no longer accepting new cases, he remains associated with the firm and is available to consult as needed. During nearly 40 years of active practice with Davis Wright Tremaine, Monty represented clients in a wide range of industries in complex business litigation, and he frequently served as an arbitrator or mediator.

 

He provided free legal services to the indigent in family-law matters, veterans’ affairs, and other areas, and as chair of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee, he encouraged others to do likewise.

 

The class extends condolences to Monty's wife, Jill Miller Gray (Jack Miller's sister), their children Elizabeth and Carolyn, and their grandchildren Westley, Nathalie, Sarah, and Jason, 2009.

 

Additional Qualifications:

  • Law Clerk, Hon. Henry J. Friendly, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, 1969-70
  • Law Clerk, Hon. Justice John M. Harlan, U.S. Supreme Court, 1970-71
  • Staff Attorney, Office of the General Counsel, Department of the Air Force, 1971-72
  • Trial Attorney, Office for Drug Abuse Law Enforcement, U.S. Department of Justice, 1972-73
  • Assistant U.S. Attorney (investigation and trial of white-collar crime and narcotics conspiracies), Seattle, 1973-76

Professional & Community Activities:

  • Adjunct Professor, Seattle University School of Law, 2010-present
  • Visiting Lecturer, Center for International Legal Studies, 2009-present
  • Advisor to Restatement of Employment Law; Members’ Consultative Committee for Restatement of Torts: Liability for Economic Loss; Members’ Consultative Committee for Restatement (Third) of Agency – American Law Institute
  • Past Member, Executive Council, Section on Antitrust, Consumer Protection and Unfair Business Practices, Washington State Bar Association
  • Section on Antitrust, Consumer Protection and Unfair Business Practices, Washington State Bar Association
  • Pro Bono and Legal Aid Committee, Washington State Bar Association
  • Trial Practice Instructor, University of Washington Law School, 1979-80
  • Instructor, National Institute of Trial Advocacy, on numerous occasions

Education:

  • J.D., Harvard Law School, 1969, magna cum laude
  • Articles Editor, Harvard Law Review
  • A.B., Mathematics, Princeton University, 1966

From the Nassau Herald:

From Past Reunion Books

55th Reunion

Marvin L. Gray (Monty)
Apt. WW2 5601 N. 37th St., Tacoma, WA 98407-2697;
mlgrayjr@gmail.com
Spouse: Jill Miller Gray
* * *
I have been married to Jill Miller, sister of our classmate Jack, for almost 50 years, and we have two daughters and four grandchildren, all of whom live in Western Washington. I have (essentially) retired from law practice after 40 years of commercial litigation with the Seattle office of Davis Wright Tremaine, LLP. I enjoy unreasonably good health, considering how little effort I’ve made to take care of myself, and I now happily spend my time reading, traveling, playing bridge, enjoying our grandchildren, and in similar activities.

50th Reunion

Marvin L. Gray (Monty)
4820 40th Ave. West, Seattle, WA 98199-1122;
Attorney, partially retired: Davis Wright Tremaine, Suite 2600, 1501 Fourth Ave., Seattle, WA 98101; 206-757-8054
Spouse: Jill Miller Gray. AB, Smith ’68; MA, Indiana ’70; schoolteacher
Children: Elizabeth, 1974; Carolyn, 1978
Grandchildren: Westley, 2001; Nathalie, 2003; Sarah, 2006; Jason, 2009
Graduate school: Harvard Law School, 1969
Military: Captain, U.S. Air Force Reserve, Washington DC; Seattle WA, 1969-1972
Princeton roommates: Mills Thornton, Steve Schreiber, Jay Lagemann
Memorable professors: Alpheus Mason (politics); George Krugovoy (Slavic languages and Literature)
Best courses: Coninterp
* * *
Best regards to all classmates and other friends. I will be overseas at the time of our reunion and unable to attend.
***
Earlier books either have nothing or have the same info as above.

 

Memories and Tributes (several added since the April 7 announcement)

Steve Schreiber:
Monty was an upbeat, optimistic person—never knew him to worry about anything. In part, I think these traits were an outgrowth of his extraordinary intellect. I recall one reading period when Monty was preparing for the final exam in Shakespeare. He was reading some of the plays for the first time. But instead of reading slowly (which to me was a precondition to reading carefully), I saw him turning the pages as rapidly as if he were reading a mystery novel or magazine. Little wonder that Monty could get his work done even though he sometimes would play cards all night at Campus Club and return to our suite as I was leaving for breakfast.
 

I believe that Monty came to Princeton intending to pursue a career in math. But Professor Mason’s “Coninterp” course changed his plans. After law school, he held 2 clerkships, with Court of Appeals Judge Henry Friendly and Supreme Court Justice John Harlan. Then on to a successful career as a litigator, including a stint as Managing Partner of a prestigious law firm. Not bad for a guy who said that his hometown (Wakefield, Va.) consisted of a traffic light and a house on each of the 4 surrounding corners.

 

Peter Freeman - March 27:

Monty was not only our classmate, majored in math, and was a member of Campus Club at Princeton, where he played a lot of bridge on Sunday mornings. You will doubtless have a lot of info on his Princeton times.
 

Monty was also my roommate at Harvard Law School, where he helped me survive our first year intellectual boot camp experience with extended discussions and legal debates over hours of cribbage and our monthly trips to Harvard Square for dinner and a night off - followed by more cribbage. He served as a JAG officer before going into private practice where he had a distinguished career in Seattle, WA.

 

I know he and Mills were friends, fellow conservatives and southerners. Monty was a math major but I don't recall anything about playing Go from our stint at HLS. It would probably have taken too much time. While we were roommates, we were devoted Sci Fi watchers of Star Trek and celebrated the end of 1L exams by taking in the movie 2001.

 

We stayed in touch over the years by email, phone and an occasional visit when I visited Seattle. To the end, he was a brilliant and witty friend, always cordial, modestly self effacing with an quick sense of humor. I will miss him and remember him fondly.

 

Mills Thorton:

Monty and I were friends in prep school (at Episcopal High School, Alexandria, Va.), came to Princeton together, roomed together for all four years, and joined Campus Club together. After Princeton, he went to Harvard law school and I went to Yale grad school. After Harvard and a Supreme Court clerkship with Justice John Marshall Harlan II, he married the sister of our Campus clubmate Jack Miller. I attended the wedding, along with our other roommate Steve Schreiber. Monty then settled in Seattle and had a very successful law career and three daughters. He visited us once in Ann Arbor, but Seattle was too far for us to see him often. I know he was quite content there, though. He was a wonderful guy, quiet but thoughtful. He had been a Math major and brought that analytical skill to the law. I'll miss him.

 

Richard McConnell: Fine man.

 

David Burnett:

Monty was famous at Campus Club for his senior thesis. Legend had it that it took him all of five pages to spell out the proof he was presenting while the rest of us labored in Firestone to produce one hundred plus pages of prose, using many bottles of white out. Monty and I learned to play bridge as undergrads and played together often. Fifty five years later, I noted in our reunion book that Monty was still playing bridge. I emailed him to say hello and mention that I was still playing as well. Phone calls followed as did a regular weekly on line bridge game after a fifty five year hiatus. Of course he had become a very fine player with many more master points than I will ever accumulate, but we generally did well and more importantly enjoyed the game no matter our results. 
 

I was privy to much of the last months of his life;  the initial diagnosis, the chemo, the optimism following the first series of treatments, the bad news when the cancer returned, the difficult decisions about whether to repeat the treatments, etc. etc. Monty was composed and unflinching through it all and firm in his conviction that it was time for the disease to take its course. About a month ago, he said he didn’t think he was up to playing any more  and we said our goodbyes. As I mentioned to Stu Steingold, who knew that Monty and I were back playing bridge together, I was surprised how quickly we had bonded after decades and how affecting I found his death to be. A brilliant and modest guy. What a great combination!

 

Liz Gray (Monty's daughter, responding to a letter on behalf of the class from Lauson Cashdollar):

I thought my dad was likely to die on Thursday March 23rd instead of Sunday March 26th. He was clearly in a septic state that night and quite disoriented. I spent the night on the floor at his bedside and thought I was going to wake up to a deceased parent, but instead he rolled over around 6 AM on Friday March 24th and asked what time the basketball game was on TV. I thought he was delusional, but it turned out that he had fully recovered his mental status and was absolutely determined to watch Princeton’s basketball team play in the Sweet 16 game of the NCAA tournament that night. We cheered and laughed; he had a great time even though the outcome of the game was not what he would have wished. He was sleepy on Saturday the 25th but comfortable, smiling and recognizing family as we said our goodbyes, and then he gently took his last breath early on Sunday morning at home with my sister by his side. As these things go, it was a fabulous death, exactly as he would have wished.
 

I appreciate both your patience and persistence in getting back in touch with me. Princeton alumni were well represented at my dad’s funeral on May 13th, including multiple Princeton neckties and of course one unique orange and black Princeton blazer. It was a day of joy and community for my family rather than a day of loss and sadness. My dad would have loved it. The Psalm read at my dad’s funeral was Psalm 84, which I think is particularly suitable for an attorney. Psalm 84 includes the lines, “My soul longs, indeed it faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God…For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.”  And while the referenced courts are of course regal, not legal ones (although there probably wasn’t a discernible difference in the ancient Near East), the language has multiple possible connotations for my dad’s life. My dad’s last pro bono clients, a couple from Mexico who he assisted with obtaining their Green Cards through the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, attended the funeral as well. They had prepared homemade tamales for our family, which we ate with gratitude on the evening of the service.

 

You had also asked for a few stories from my dad.  He embarked on a project called “StoryWorth” to share life stories a few years ago and I have appended those stories to this email. 

Partying and Meeting my Mom

Thesis experience and Professor Alpheus' career advice

* * * 

 

Condolences, memories, and pictures may also be shared on this memorial page by responding directly to 66_MemorialTeam@tiger1966.org.