Absalom Francis "Frank" Bray, Jr.
November 24, 1918 - March 30, 2002

Pictured above: Frank makes one of his daily visits to deliver material
for the Veale or Bray collections. (May, 2001)

After a battle with cancer, Frank Bray died peacefully on March 30, 2002 with his family by his side in Martinez. Frank is survived by his wife of 52 years, Lorraine. He is also survived by son Oliver and his wife Robin of Martinez., son Brian and wife Susan of Martinez, daughter Margo to South Lake Tahoe and grandchildren Allison and Emily of Martinez.

Frank was born in San Francisco on November 24, 1918 to Frank and Leila Bray of Martinez. He was raised, attended school and lived most of his adult in Martinez. He went on to graduate from Stanford University in 1940. While at Stanford he was a four-year member of the varsity fencing team. Frank began law school, but when the war broke out, he took an assignment at the Iowa Ordnance Plant in Burlington, Iowa. It was during his stay in Iowa that he met Lorraine.

He was given a commission in the U. S. Naval Reserve in 1942 and his first action of the war was as commander of the gunnery crew on a tanker that was sunk in the Gulf of Mexico. He earned commendations for rescuing fellow crew members an spent several days on a life raft before they were located and rescued. He served the remainder of the war in the Pacific where he commanded LSI 987. He left the Navy in 1946 and returned to law school graduating from USC Law School in 1949. He was admitted to the California Bar in 1949.

He returned to Martinez and married Lorraine Cerena Paule on June 25, 1949. They lived briefly in Berkeley, but settled in Martinez where Frank practiced law as the senior partner of Bray & Baldwin and successive firms to Bray & Bray. He was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court in 1960. Frank practiced law in Martinez for 52 years. He only recently retired from his law practice in December 2001.

Frank was a tireless worker and devoted husband and father, who always mad time for the many groups and causes he supported. He served numerous community groups as a board member and as an officer. Most notably, he was the Chairman of the National Board of Camp Fire Girls and was very active on the local council of Boy Scouts of America. He was the president of the Contra Costa Historical Society, the Martinez Historical Society, John Muir Memorial Society, and the Contra Costa County Development Association. He served as chairman of the State Bar of California's adoption committee an as president of the Contra Costa Chapter of the U.S. Navy League. He was very proud of his with the Rotary Club and his record of perfect attendance for 49 years. He served as president of th local chapter twice. He was also a long time member of the Martinez Masonic Lodge, the BPOE (Elks), and the Yerba Buena Chapter of the E. Clampus Vitis. Her served his community as a trustee for the Martinez Unified School, a member of the Martinez Recreation Commission and trough local efforts to raise money to fight TB. He was also a founding director and member of the board of the Martinez Education Foundation and a founding director of John Muir National Bank, a bank established to serve the local community.

Frank was a life time member of Grace Episcopal Church in Martinez, wher he was active in church affairs serving as a senior warden over entire adult life.

A memorial service to celebrate his life was held on Friday, April 5, 2002, at 1:00 P.M. at Grace Episcopal Church at 130 Muir Station Road , Martinez. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Grace Episcopal Church, PO Box 2338, Martinez, CA 94553 or to The Mt. Diablo-Silverado Council, Boy Scouts of America, 800 Ellinwood Way, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523 or the charity of your choice.