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Memorable Manitobans: Gerald B. “Gerry” Gray (1930-2010)
Businessman, philanthropist, community leader.
Born at Winnipeg on 4 September 1930, son of Max Gray (1890-1944) and Ida Braunstein (?-?), nephew of Morris Abraham Gray, he was educated at St. John’s High School. His father died when he was a teenager and he dropped out of school at age 16. A successful businessman, he eventually became Chief Executive Officer of Blackwoods Beverages, a local distributor and bottling centre for Pepsi and other soft drinks.
On 6 January 1957, he married Mona Sandomirsky at Vancouver, British Columbia. A founder of the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, he donated $1 million to the renovation of Central Park in downtown Winnipeg and $1 million to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. The Gray Academy in Winnipeg is named for him.
He died at Winnipeg on 8 October 2010 and was buried in the Shaarey Zedek Cemetery.
Sources:
Marriage registration [Max Gray, Ida Brownstein], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Death registration [Max Gray], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Max Gray, 53, Blackwoods head, dies,” Winnipeg Tribune, 17 July 1944, page 1.
“Engagements,” Winnipeg Tribune, 10 November 1956, page 16.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 20 October 2010.
“Philanthropist wasn’t flamboyant” by Bill Redekop, Winnipeg Free Press, 14 October 2010, page B2.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 2 October 2022
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