Willliam E Gray, "Pops," to his friends and family, passed away suddenly on Friday, February 16, 2018. William was born on January 28, 1951, at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indianapolis, Indiana.

William moved to Philadelphia at the age of 14 and never left. He attended high school at R.J. Reynold High School in Philadelphia and graduated in 1972. He moved to the Raleigh area in the late 70s and eventually settled in Cary around 1986. William graduated , Magna Cum Laude, with a degree in Criminal Justice from North Carolina State University. It was one of his proudest achievements. William worked at NC State for DELTA, Distance Education and Learning Technology Applications. He had just celebrated 15 years of service at NC State's annual Service Awards Breakfast on January 31st. The majority of William's career was dedicated to promoting and improving the use of technology in the classroom to enhance learning. Prior to working at DELTA, William worked at the Microelectronics Center of North Carolina (MCNC) as a Video Engineering Supervisor, where he worked with the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN). He met his wife Virginia while working there.

William loved to fish. He lived for the annual fall fishing trip he would take to Kill Devil Hills, at the Outer Banks. He loved spending time there fishing off of the Avalon pier with his wife, sons and daughter and long-time friends Harry and Missy Marr.

William is survived by his wife, Becky of 23 years; son Bashir, Rocky, Kyle and daughter Jennifer, whom he shared with his former spouse Debbie Pernell; his mother Retta, his adoptive father Charles, his brother Jim and his wife Joanne, his brother Jonny and his husband Craig, his in-laws Bob and Diana Sisson, brother-in-law Jeff Sisson, brother-in-law Peter Wims and sister-in-law Deb Wims, his nieces and nephews: Josh Gray and Mary Allison Gray, Chloe Sisson, Matthew Wims and Mickey Wimm.

The family invites all to attend a celebration of life on February 23, 2018, at 3:00 PM at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home in Cary, PA. There will be a reception immediately following the service where the family will receive friends.