Gray Byron Jolink

Gray Byron Jolink, 61, passed away early Monday, June 23rd, 2008. He was many things during his full life: pilot, photographer, attorney, birder, coach, and nature lover. But the titles of which he was most proud were husband, father, grandfather, son, uncle, brother, cousin, and friend. Gray was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on November 4, 1946, to John and Bette Jolink. At Comanche High School, he played sports, was involved in student government, and graduated salutatorian of the Class of 1965. He attended the University of Texas at Austin and joined the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, where he made many lifelong friends. He put himself through both undergraduate and law schools, earning a B.S. in Mathematics and a J.D. in law. He spent the last thirty years practicing bankruptcy law in Austin. His passion for the law lay in his desire to help others, and he saw his bankruptcy practice as a means to help those who struggled financially to get back on their feet. Following in his father's footsteps, Gray learned to fly and took his family on various adventures in his single-engine Cessna 206 airplane. Gray's favorite hobby, however, was bird watching. It gave him an avenue to connect with nature and, more than anything, a sense of great joy. He looked forward to the biannual migration of birds traveling through Texas. His U.S. Bird Life List stands at 436 birds. Gray is preceded in death by his father, John Jolink. He is survived by his mother, Bette; loving wife, Kathy; children, Luke, Radkey, Georgia, Tatum, and Willa; daughter-in-law, Christine; brother, Dirk; sister-in-law, Carol; mother-in-law, Bea Cromack; grandchildren, Mason and Miles; eight nieces and nephews; and numerous other relatives and friends. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Gray Jolink Memorial Fund, PO Box 5516, Austin, TX 78763. Obituary and guestbook online at wcfish.com