Kenneth Gray Obituary Kenneth Lee Gray, a resident of Grants Pass, Ore., passed away at his home on Feb. 27, 2014. He was 83 years old. Kenneth was born July 11, 1930, in Medford, Ore., to Joseph and Amy Gray, members of an Oregon pioneer family. He was the youngest of six children, three girls and three boys. He attended schools in Medford and Kirby, Ore. Kenneth was going to Nevada with a friend when he met the love of his life, Barbara Loos. They were married on Dec. 22, 1949, in Grants Pass. They had five children, two girls and three boys. During his life Kenneth worked as a sawmill owner/operator with his father-in-law in Wolf Creek, Ore.; worked in the woods for a woman logger in Eureka, Calif., and with his brother, Zane, at Sebastopol, Calif.; worked at Pullins Mill out of Cave Junction, Ore.; was a ranch foreman in Jenner, Calif.; and trapped, enjoyed scuba diving and operated a fishing boat with his wife out of Fort Bragg, Calif. He was hired by the California Department of Forestry in 1960, working as a heavy equipment operator at stations in Clearlake Oaks and Cobb in Lake County, Calif. He would later be stationed in Leggett in Mendocino County, Calif. Since he only had an eighth grade education he attended Humboldt State University in Arcata, Calif., and obtained a teaching credential. He then taught fire science and repelling. He was founder and president of the Konocti Motorcycle Club in Lake County. In appreciation for his work, BMW Motorcycle Co. gave him a Sprint motorcycle to race. A consortium approached him to run for a California Senate seat, but he decided against it as he didn’t want to move his family to Sacramento. Kenneth worked for CDF for 20 years, retiring as a captain in 1980. After retiring, he and Barbara moved from Mendocino County to Grants Pass and purchased a small farm. They operated a truck farm for many years and became well known for their produce. When they finished with the truck farm, Kenneth became a minister. The first couple he married was his great-grandson and wife. He was preceded in death by his parents; sisters, Zella Roff, Dolly Claymier and Ruby Tedrick; brothers, M.C. “Bob” Gray and Zane Gray; sons, Joseph Gray and Terry Gray; and great-granddaughter, Adrianna Ebben. Ken is survived by his wife, Barbara; daughters, Sue Gray and Mary Stone, both of Grants Pass; son, Kenneth Gray and wife, Carla, of Priest River, Idaho; 13 grandchildren; 22 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Burial will take place at Missouri Flat Cemetery at 1 p.m. Monday, March 3. Services will follow at 3 p.m. at Redwood Church of Christ, 5180 Redwood Ave. in Grants Pass. Pastor Jeff Prosise will officiate. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Passing of LT FAE Jim Foster- That’s all we know right now ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Cal Fire plans to move HQ to Sonora Written by Mike Morris, The Union Democrat February 27, 2014 12:30 pm Plans are under way for Cal Fire’s Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit to eventually relocate its headquarters from San Andreas to Sonora. Unit Chief Josh White informed the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors of the plans this week, which caused concern among supervisors that the move would hurt the local economy. The headquarters’ move is actually the final step in a three-phase plan, White explained. First, the unit’s fleet maintenance station — where engines and other equipment are repaired — will be moving from San Andreas to Angels Camp. Construction on a new maintenance station will break ground either this year or next year behind Cal Fire’s Altaville fire station at the northern end of Angels Camp. Following construction of the maintenance station, a new warehouse, which will store equipment and supplies needed for firefighting, will be built at Sierra Conservation Center’s Vallecito Fire Camp. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Please mark your calendars for the Retirement Celebration for Doug Wenham, Friday May 16, 2014. More information to follow. Kim Young CAL FIRE 6105 Airport Road Redding, CA 96001 530-224-2489 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CalFire assistant chief follows dads footsteps The legacy of the Machado family and CalFire grew this week with the announcement that Stan Machado has been appointed Tulare Unit Operations assistant chief. The position of assistant fire chief is nothing new to the Machado family. Stan has followed his father, John Machado’s footsteps to the rank that he has earned. Assistant Chief John Machado began his career California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) in 1960 and promoted through the ranks as fire captain, battalion chief and forest supervisor of the Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest before achieving the rank of assistant chief in the Tulare Unit. Assistant Chief John Machado held this rank until his retirement in January of 1990. Chief Stan Machado began his career in 1984 as a seasonal fire fighter in the Tulare Unit. He has worked his way up through CalFire as a fire apparatus engineer working both in the field Battalions and Air Base programs. As a fire captain, he had worked in various program areas which include fire crew captain at both at Owens Valley and Mountain Home Camps in addition to the Unit’s Emergency Command Center. Chief Machado most recently has held the position of the Fountain Springs battalion chief for the last eight years and has contributed to many programs throughout the Unit and State. The Machado family has been instrumental in providing fire protection and Forest Management practices to the citizens of Tulare County and throughout the State for over 54 years.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 02:19:08 +0000
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