Elmon T. Gray
| Elmon T. Gray | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Virginia Senate from the 16th district |
|
|
In office January 12, 1972 – January 11, 1992 |
|
| Preceded by | Garland Gray |
| Succeeded by | Henry L. Marsh III |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
May 1, 1925 Nansemond County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | September 27, 2011 (aged 86) Richmond, Virginia |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Pamela Spencer Gray |
| Children | Katharine Taylor Gray, Garland Gray II, Bruce Burnside Gray |
| Alma mater | Virginia Military Institute |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Navy
|
| Years of service | 1944–1946 |
| Rank | Ensign |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Elmon Taylor Gray (May 1, 1925 – September 27, 2011) was a Virginia lumberman, real estate developer, philanthropist and Democratic member of the Senate of Virginia from Waverly, Virginia.
Elmon Gray was born on May 1, 1925 to Garland (Peck) Gray and his wife Agnes Elizabeth (Aggie) Taylor. He attended segregated public schools, graduating from Waverly High School on the day of the Battle of Midway, and began studies at the Virginia Military Institute in 1942. He left VMI in 1944 to join the U.S. Navy as an ensign, and served on a minesweeper in the South Pacific until his discharge in 1946. He then returned to VMI and received his bachelor's degree in 1948. In 1990, he received an honorary degree from his alma mater.
He married Pamela Spencer Burnside, and they had two sons (Bruce Burnside Gray and Garland Gray II) and a daughter (Kathryn Taylor Gray) who survived their parents, as did five grandchildren and his two sisters and stepsister.
Upon returning from World War II and graduating from VMI, Gray joined his father in the family lumber business, Gray Lumber Company, based in Waverly. He became its president in 1953, and in the following decades expanded its operations into real estate development in the Richmond suburbs. In 1992, as he retired from his part-time position in the Virginia Senate as described below, Gray Land & Timber Company sold substantial portions of the remaining timberland, and exchanged them for apartment rental properties, becoming GrayCo (which Elmon Gray headed until his death). He was also active with the Virginia Forestry Association (president 1969–71), the Reforestation Advisory Committee (1971) and the Ruritans. Gray also served on several board of directors, including on the Bank of Waverly, James River Bankshares, First and Merchants National Bank, Virginia Electric and Power Company (VEPCO), and Universal Leaf Tobacco Company.
Gray also invested in his passion, thoroughbred horseracing. Although Virginia approved pari-mutual racing in 1988, he and his consortium of investors were unable to secure regulatory approvals for a horse track in Hampton Roads.
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