Frederick Melton Bray

November 01, 1915 - May 15, 2009

Frederick Melton Bray Obituary Frederick Melton Bray (known as Fred or Dick) was born in Butte, Montana on November 1, 1915, and died in Spokane, Washington on May 15, 2009. He spent the last three years of his life being cared for by the dedicated staff of the Sunshine Gardens nursing home. He was preceded in death by his wife, Helen, in 1999, and his parents James Fred Bray and Elene Melton Bray. He was raised in the Bitterroot Valley and attended college at Montana State University prior to his military service. Sources of pride during his long life were: being form Montana, his 53 years of marriage, his active duty service in the Army Air Corps during World War II and the Air Force during the Korean War, 20 years of service in the Air Force Reserves, raising three sons, working on the Saturn V rocket booster/Apollo project in the 1960s and early 1970s, and being referred to as a "character". He and Helen lived in Spokane for several years after World War II before moving to southern California to raise their family; returning to Spokane in 1992 for their final retirement. He is survived by three sons, Thomas F. Bray and his wife Lori, Robert F. Bray and his wife Brenda, Patrick B. Bray; sisters Bea Barnett and June Swingle; and grandchildren Katherine, Lauren, Jennifer, and Matthew; and Wendy, Tanya, and Joe; and four great-grandchildren. We feel comforted in imagining his final resting place to be somewhere under a wide Montana sky. There will be a graveside service at Arlington West in the Greenwood Cemetery in Spokane on May 28th at 4 PM. Please send memorials to Hospice of Spokane or Sunshine Gardens.