Robert Wilburn Gray

“Robert Wilburn Gray passed away peacefully in Houston, TX on April 14, 2014, surrounded by his family. He was a kind, gentle man; a Husband, Father, and grandfather, whose loving care will continue long after his presence ceases by all who loved and admired him.

He was born in Houston, TX on October 14, 1946 to Marie Poling Gray and Wilburn Norman Gray. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Edward Patrick Gray, and very recently a cherished niece Victoria Marie “Tori” Kleinsteuber.

A proud native Houstonian, Robert worked at the Rice Hotel in downtown Houston before serving in Vietnam. After returning from military service, Robert completed his degree in hotel and restaurant management at the University of Houston. Robert worked as a customer service agent for Delta Airlines for 25 years. After retiring from Delta in 1995, Robert put his customer service skills to use by attaining his real estate broker’s license and working as a broker associate at Ray Allison, Realtors and Keller Williams Realty. He founded GrayHomeTeam with his daughter, Dana Gray, working for 15 years as business partners. Robert was a highly successful and respected real estate broker who was devoted to his business and clients. Robert spent his life building and enjoying relationships with family, friends and business acquaintances with a ready smile and calm sense of humor. He truly appreciated the unique demands and expectations of everyone and "served" to reflect his deep faith and commitments to people from all walks of life. He was the best of men and would laughingly shake off that compliment and any others. He was deeply loved by so many.

Survivors include wife, Brenda Gray; daughter Dana Gray and partner Lauren, son Joseph Gray and wife Kathy; grandchildren Nathan, Sophia and Ryan, all of Houston, Texas; stepchildren Chris and Crissy Jancic and their children Drew and Lyndon (who called him “Bubba”) all of Flower Mound, Texas; stepchildren Erin and Dian Jancic of Long Beach, California; former wife, Enod Hodges Gray of Houston, Texas; sister-in-law Betty Gray of Westville, Oklahoma; nieces and nephews Virginia Gray and Laura Lackey, Vivian Spinks all of Houston, Texas, Renate’ Gray Kleinsteuber and Mark Kleinsteuber, Ryan and Lydia Seawell-Gray, Hunter Gray, and Easton Gray, of Hobbs, New Mexico.

The family would like to thank the doctors and staff at Methodist Hospital in Katy, Texas as well as Premier Oncology Consultants for their wonderful care and compassion over the last 15 months. They gave us days and hours full of experiences we would not have shared but for their skill and dedication.

We invite all who wish to honor Robert’s memory to join in a service of sharing as we rejoice in his life. The family will be receiving friends from 1pm to 3pm with a celebration of Robert’s life to be held at 3 o’clock on Thursday, April 17th at Brookside Funeral Home, Grand Chapel, 13474 Eastex Freeway, Houston, TX 77039. Burial to follow.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests with gratitude that contribution be directed to the “Tori Kleinsteuber Memorial Scholarship Fund”, P.O. Box 2937, Hobbs, New Mexico, 88241.”