Tsgt. Richard William "Rick" Gray, Jr. Usaf (Ret.)

TSgt. Richard William “Rick” Gray, Jr., USAF (Ret.) passed away in the early morning hours of Tuesday, October 19, 2021 at the age of 56.

Born in Indianapolis, Indiana on November 30, 1964, Richard was the son of Patsy Norris Jacoby and the late Richard William Gray, Sr. He joined the United States Air Force in 1986 and was awarded the Defense Service Medal with 1 device, Air Force Achievement Medal with 1 device, Humanitarian Service Medal with 1 device, and the NCO Professional Military Education Ribbon, among many other accolades during his 20 years in the Air Force. He received many commendations for work projects, always going above and beyond the call of duty. During his years in the military, Richard was an integrated avionics systems instrument and flight concept control craftsman. After his service to his country, Richard then worked as a senior avionics technician at Northrop Grumman as well as a contractor for the Marine Corps. He served in the forward theaters of Iraq and Afghanistan. His greatest accomplishment, however, was being a dad and a pop to his daughters and granddaughters.

Richard was preceded in death by his father, Richard William Gray, Sr. and sister, Tracy Gray.

He is survived by his daughters, Kylie Cuppett and Abby Gray; mother, Patsy Jacoby (Joe); granddaughters, Lakelyn Cuppett and Presley Cuppett; siblings, Michelle Plata, Jacob Jacoby, Scott Gray, Shannon Gray, Keith Gray; sons-in-law, Michael Cuppett and Chase Williams; stepmother, Janice V. Gray; former wife, April Higgens Gray; as well as several nieces, nephews, and numerous cousins, friends, and extended family. Richard never met a stranger and many people will miss him.

A celebration of Richard’s life will take place on Saturday, October 23, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. at McCullough Funeral Home. The family will receive visitors following the service. For friends unable to attend at this time, the service will be streamed live via the McCullough Funeral Home Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mcculloughfuneralhome/live/.

Learn more about the measures McCullough Funeral Home is taking to ensure the health and safety of our guests at www.mcculloughfh.com. There you can also sign an Online Registry for the family. McCullough Funeral Home and Crematory has the privilege of being entrusted with these arrangements.