Marjorie M. Gray
WASP
43-W-1
February 11, 2008, WASP Marjorie Murry Gray passed away at the Long Island State Veterans Home in Stony Brook, NY. Marjorie was 95.
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From her own words, p. 38 "Out of the Blue and Into History" by WASP Betty Turner.
Marjorie M. Gray
Smithtown, New York
"I was born March 21, 1912 in Manhattan, New York City. I had worked during college breaks at a hotel on Shelter Island and returned to the area, and Westhampton Beach which I was acquainted with, after finishing college in 1933.
I flew on my first flight July 4, 1937, and one year later soloed at Nelson Airport in New Jersey.
After graduation from the first class of WASP at Ellington Field in April 1943, I was stationed at Newcastle Air Force Base, Wilmington, Delaware under the command of Betty Huyler Gillies. I flew the B-24, B-25, B-26, DC-3 and 15 other types of military aircraft.
After deactivation, I opened an FBO (Fixed Base Operation) in 1946-1950, and trained pilots and flew charters. I subsequently worked for Curtiss Aviation, and then as associate editor for Flying Magazine, 1953-1060.
I joined the Air Force Reserve in 1950, and retired as Lt. Colonel in 1972. I was governor of the 99's New York, New Jersey Section in 1946. In 1956 I was awarded the Lady Hay Drummond Hay Award for Outstanding Achievement Aviation. I had earned a seaplane, multiengine, instrument and instructor's ratings and commercial license.
I moved to Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York in 1965 and retired from Grumman Aviation in 1981. I was inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame in Teterboro, New Jersey in 1992.
I reflect on my years in aviation as the best time in my life and have made lifelong friends through aviation, and have accrued over 3,000 hours of flying.
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Marjorie is survived by her longtime friend and guardian, Madeline Steiner, 70, of Smithtown. A religious service and cremation will be at 3 p.m. Friday, February 15 in Washington Memorial Park in Mount Sinai, NY.
