George Wray

George T. Wray

1936-2025

George Wray was born December 10, 1936 in Delta, Colorado. When he was a young child, the family moved to Tracy city, Tennessee where his parents ran the local telephone company and many relatives were a central part of his life. He loved the verdant woods, mountains and valleys of Tennessee where he had an idyllic childhood, having the run of the small town and hiking, swimming and generally getting into mischief. The area was known for coal mining as well as bootlegging and George loved the sound of the moonshiners’ cars – so low and smooth – as they came through town. He and his friends often came upon stills as they hiked in the hills. His father took a job with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) in Fargo, North Dakota and the family moved north. Ever adaptable, George learned to love the deep snow and cold winters.

He graduated from Fargo High School and attended Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. Both he and Concordia agreed that college was not right for him at that time and his uncle, a career Marine, convinced him to join the U.S. Marine Corps and see the world. The Marine Corps was a great experience for George and his postings included Lebanon and Taiwan. George had always drawn and made art and he became more adept at capturing scenes and people in his military travels. When he left the Corps, he began studying art at Moorhead State College in Moorhead, MN and graduated with a degree in art education in 1963.

Following graduation, he took a job teaching in the public schools in Great Falls, Montana. There he met another school teacher, Gleanne Foster, and they were married in 1965 in Dillon, Montana. After another year of teaching, the couple moved to Oakland, California where George worked toward a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in painting at California College of Arts & Crafts, now known as the California College of the Arts.

In 1969, George accepted an offer from the University of Idaho (UI) and he spent over 30 years of his professional career teaching painting and drawing at UI. He maintained a personal studio and became interested in the effects of light so much so that he decided to incorporate neon into his paintings, drawings, sculptures and installations. He purchased a neon plant and taught himself glass blowing as well as the effects of various gases to achieve the vivid colors he wanted. He loved collaborating with other artists and exhibited frequently with them. Travel inspired many of his pieces including the Alaska forest and Juneau Glacier, the Grand Canyon, flowers in Hawaii, the Oregon Coast as well as local and regional scenes. He did many private and permanent installations including the Hair & Face Salon in Moscow, the Kenworthy Theatre interior neon, the Boise Art Museum and in the Oregon schools.

In 1966, George donated a kidney to his sister Wardel Otteson who was suffering from nephritis. The transplant was one of the early kidney transplants and it gave his sister many more years of life. He protected his one kidney fiercely and it served him well for 60 years. He died of sepsis on September 4 at Providence Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane.

George was preceded in death by his parents, Gertrude and Ward Wray, his grandparents, and his sister. He is survived by his wife, Gleanne; daughters Amy and Kate, sons-in-law Navin Chettri and Stephen Rardin, nephew Jay Otteson (Natalie), niece Laura Jane Tischler (Josh), grandchildren Valerie DeMeerleer, Aisha Chettri and Anjay Chettri, as well as many other nieces and nephews.

He is loved and missed by many but wonderful memories of his gentle, kind character, wit, humor, and talent remain. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the George Wray Artist-in-Residence Endowment at: https://go.idaho.edu/georgewray. Cremation has taken place and a Celebration of Life to be held March 28, 2026 at the 1912 Center in Moscow, Idaho from 1:00 to 4:00 pm.