Edward Lee “Ed” Gray

Edward Lee “Ed” Gray

Concord, NC

Edward Lee “Ed” Gray, age 92, of Concord, North Carolina (formerly of Washington, IAIowa died on June 3, 2025, following a short illness.

Graveside services with military honors will be held at 2:30 p.m. Friday, June 13, 2025, at the Elm Grove Cemetery. The family will be present to receive friends from 1:00 until 2:00 p.m. Friday, June 13, at the Jones & Eden Funeral Home in Washington. Online condolences may be sent for Ed’s family at www.jonesfh.com.

Ed was born on March 5, 1933, in Washington, Iowa, the son of Clive and Carrie (Haney) Gray. He attended Wahington High School, graduated in 1951, and joined the Air Force in 1952. He did his basic training in Amarillo, Texas. He was first stationed at Craig Air Force Base, near Selma, Alabama, which was followed by a posting at McGuire Air Force Base in Trenton, New Jersey. On February 26, 1955, Ed was united in marriage to Evelyn McMillan in Bel Air, Maryland. He left the Air Force in 1956 after serving as a fighter plane mechanic in the 332d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron.

Ed and Evelyn stayed in Trenton, where he learned the plumbing business through a rigorous five-year apprenticeship program. In 1963 they moved back to Washington where they started Gray’s Plumbing. In the mid-1970s Ed served as a reserve police office and, in 1977 after retiring from Gray’s Plumbing, he joined the Washington Police Force, where he served for seven years. In 1984 he accepted the position of senior maintenance engineer at the Washington County Hospital where he worked for ten years before returning to his plumbing business. In 1999 Ed returned to full-time law enforcement as a Prisoner Transport Officer for the Washington County Jail. After retiring as a Transport Officer Ed served as the Washington City Plumbing Inspector for eight years. In 2015 Ed and Evelyn moved to Concord, North Carolina to be closer to family.

Ed enjoyed working with the Washington YMCA Swim Team, spending time with family and friends, riding his motorcycle, traveling by train, fishing, camping, watching the Bears, and gardening.

He is survived by his loving wife Evelyn; son Mike Gray (Terri), Sioux Falls, South Dakota; son Lee Gray (Judy), Concord, North Carolina; son-in-law Doug Dietz Washington, Iowa; and five grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Clive and Carrie, his brother Richard, his daughter Deborah (Gray) Dietz, his grandson Corey Dietz, his granddaughter Kelly (Dietz) Hanson, and her husband Zach Hanson.