Bill Gray hangs up his hat for lighter days on the farm

  • Published
  • By Janaé Daniels
  • AEDC/PA
Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn. --  When asked what they plan on doing after retirement most people say travel, spend time with family or grandkids, but for Bill Gray it's something much more low key - farming.

"We live on a farm in Lynchburg so I will probably be doing more farm jobs," he said. "One thing I want to do is finish my chores before dark. And I want to make sure I do a better job than I am doing now as a part-time farmer."

Peggy, his wife and who is the Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) deputy director of financial management and comptroller, is excited for Bill to get to retire while he still has his health and so many interests.

"We have the farm, he loves to shoot and hunt and he still swims, rides his bicycle and runs when he is able," she said. "I still have a couple of years to work. I think retiring at the same time would be difficult. I believe it is great that he will have a couple of years to get into his routine before I retire."

Peggy jokingly added, "I love him dearly, but spending 24-hours-a-day together every day might be trying. I think we both need our space." Like most spouses who retire before the other, Peggy has a few honey-do things for Bill to do while she's at work. "I continually tease him about having dinner ready when I get home each day," she said. "Wouldn't that be wonderful? And, I wouldn't mind if he decided to do the grocery shopping either."

All joking aside, what Peggy will miss most about Bill not being here is that he is her rock and always there for support when she needed it. "I am the more emotional one - he is definitely the more serious one," she said. "I think we complement each other very well. I can't tell you how many times he has simply said, 'Now Peg, you just need to calm down' and over time, I have become a much calmer person."

Prior to AEDC, Bill was an analytical engineer for Pratt & Whitney Aircraft at West Palm Beach, Fla., where he was responsible for updating F100 engine trim curves and operational procedures.

When he joined AEDC in October 1977, Bill was a project engineer in the T-1 project office for the center's first prime contractor ARO [Arnold Research Organization]. By the end of the contract in 1980, Bill decided to join the ranks of the DoD civilian work force and has been there ever since.

Looking back, Bill feels the construction of Aeropropulsion Systems Test Facility (ASTF) and the running of the first engine was one of his most memorable times at the center. At the time, he was the senior project engineer in the, what was then called, Systems Integration and Operations Division, ASTF Program Office at AEDC.

"The first time we ran an engine in ASTF was an exciting time for me. We had been working on it for a long time so it was pretty exciting to see it run," he said.

For Ron Polce, 704th Test Systems Group director, it's been a great 30-year relationship and friendship with the test manager, investments chief, support director, technical director, Air Force senior leader and gentleman farmer from Moore County. Polce first met Bill during his interview to join the ASTF activation team.

"What impressed me during Bill's interview still impresses me and all who meet and know Bill," Polce said. "Although very casually dressed with a full Grizzly Adams beard, Bill was soft spoken yet confident. It was easy to detect his genuine sincerity and in just a few minutes we knew he was a competent jet engine tester, loved working at AEDC and could lead our ASTF checkout program. "Our choice was easy and during the last three decades Bill has continued to confidently and professionally lead AEDC."

Mike Barlow, Utilities Operations manager, and Bill Hall, Aerospace Testing Alliance's Facilities Operations & Maintenance business manager, have also worked with Bill Gray and have fond memories of their different projects they worked on together.

"Bill always had AEDC's best interest at heart and would quietly seek out the relevant facts on any issue," Barlow said. "He made decisions and took actions accordingly. As a result, he stood out as a voice of corporate knowledge, reason and consistency, especially during periods of rapid change. Bill was a pleasure to work with and cared about AEDC's people."

Hall feels AEDC has been fortunate to have Bill as a leader for many years, and feels it is losing one of its finest.

"Over the years Bill has developed into a friend as well as a government counterpart and someone I could trust to help with issues be it an AEDC or a personnel problem," Hall said. "He also took the time to listen and help make the right decision, but also always had the time to stop and ask 'How's the running going?"

Not to sound cliché like most who retire, but Bill says he will miss the people the most.

"Everybody says it's the people and it is," he said. "I have enjoyed looking back on the people I've worked with. I think there's a certain amount of comfort in a large group of people that you've worked with and there's mutual respect and a lot of them I am not going to see again, unless they come to Lynchburg and they are certainly welcome."