Walter Patton Gray, Lll, was a Chiefof Archaeology, History, Museums- California State Parks.
4 He was educated Universtiy of Virginia.
4 He was awarded a Museum Management.
4 Obituary: Train buff kept museum on rails
By Robert D. Dávila - Bee Staff Writer
Walter P. Gray III, a historian, preservationist and unabashed train buff who helped establish the California State Railroad Museum as a world-class celebration of the locomotive and its influence on the Golden State, died Tuesday. He was 54.
He died after a yearlong battle with liver cancer, said his wife, Mary Helmich.
Mr. Gray was an international expert on railroad history and museum operations who spent more than two decades at the California State Railroad Museum. He served as archivist, launched the Sacramento Southern Railroad excursion line and brought the national Railfair exhibition to Old Sacramento before becoming director in 1990. He emphasized interpretive displays about people who built, owned and traveled on trains to illustrate the railroad's importance in shaping California and linking it to the rest of the country.
"He really elevated it to a first-class museum," said Bill Withuhn, curator of technology and transportation at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. "He had a very educated and sophisticated approach to anything he touched."
In 1998, Mr. Gray was appointed California state archivist. He oversaw the opening of the former Golden State Museum and led efforts to catalog and make historical records available through the Internet, officials said. In 2004, he joined California State Parks as chief of archaeology, history and museums with a plan to make cultural artifacts more accessible to the public and safer from damage in flooding or other natural disasters, director Ruth Coleman said.
"Walt never had a bad day," said former Secretary of State Bill Jones, who appointed him to head the state archives. "He was always looking for professional ways to solve problems. He's an amazing individual, and California will miss him."
Mr. Gray had a lifelong fascination with trains, family and friends said. He was born in 1952 in San Francisco to an Air Force pilot and homemaker and grew up in Falmouth, Mass. He often rode a four-wheel track maintenance vehicle called a "speeder" on a branch line to Cape Cod, friend Kevin Bunker said.
His family lived briefly in Southern California before moving to Sacramento by 1970, his wife said. He briefly attended Sacramento City College before leaving to work as a firefighter on a tourist rail line near Santa Cruz. He earned a bachelor's degree in history from California State University, Sacramento, and joined the California State Railroad Museum in 1977. He also graduated from a museum management program at the University of Virginia in 1993.
He was a former president of the Sacramento Model Railroad Club and the Sacramento County Historical Society. He wrote many publications and appeared in TV and video productions about railroad history. He also traveled widely to give lectures on trains and museums to professional, academic and preservation groups.
Mr. Gray was a warm, witty and soft-spoken man who gladly shared his enthusiasm for railroads and history, family and friends said. Colleagues recalled an upbeat, optimistic leader who went out of his way to support and mentor employees.
He enjoyed working on antique cars and restoring a 1912 Craftsman bungalow he shared with his wife, whom he married in 1980. He also enjoyed cooking, photography and traveling across the United States and in foreign countries -- especially by train.
"A lot of people hear a lonesome train whistle, and they feel sad," Mary Helmich said. "But not Walter. He loved it."
About the writer:
The Bee's Robert D. Dávila can be reached at (916) 321-1077 or bdavila@sacbee.com.
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Walter P. Gray III
Born: Aug. 8, 1952
Died: May 8, 2007
Remembered for: Railroad historian, preservationist and former director of the California State Railroad Museum; chief of archaeology, history and museums for California State Parks and former state archivist
Survived by: Wife, Mary Helmich of Sacramento; brothers, Chris Gray of Sacramento and Bruce Gray of eastern Oregon; and sister, Andrea Gray-Botkin of Sacramento
Memorial service: Celebration of life, 6 to 9 p.m. June 2 at the California State Railroad Museum, 111 I St., Sacramento
Remembrances: In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Mr. Gray may be made to the California State Railroad Museum Foundation and the California State Parks Foundation.