Allan C. Gray passed away peacefully, with his sister at his bedside, in the late morning of September 1. He retired as Executive Director of the Northwest Regional Library System (NORWELD) in 2011 after 37 years of forward-thinking service to NORWELD’s member libraries and library patrons in 25 Northwest Ohio counties.
During his time at NORWELD, Allan led initiatives that helped libraries embrace change while also strengthening community bonds. He facilitated local history initiatives, including online obituary indexes and an oral history program that captured the memories of more than 150 community leaders and military members for many NORWELD libraries.
Through training and resource grants, he also helped libraries modernize their operations. NORWELD helped its members transition from physical card catalogs to online catalogs, checkout, and a statewide interconnection system. NORWELD also helped its members create and maintain library websites and integrate changing media formats into library inventory.
Allan Gray was born on December 27, 1943, in New Kensington, Pennsylvania, the oldest of two children. He served in the U.S. Army, stationed in Vietnam from 1964 to 1965 and in the U.S. for another year afterward.
After military service, he earned a Master’s in Library Science from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Allan credited the librarian in his hometown, who gave him a part-time job immediately after his discharge, with inspiring his life’s work.
Allan loved traveling and generously shared his enthusiasm and expertise with friends and family. He visited countries throughout the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia and traveled to Australia and New Zealand.
A lifelong reader and an Anglophile, Allan was especially interested in the history of Britain during World War II. Two other unrelated interests close to his heart were the Pittsburgh Steelers and the American political scene; either could easily ignite intense discussion and debate.
Allan’s family resides near Boulder Colorado and includes his sister and brother-in-law Pat and Ron Marquez, their son and daughter, their respective spouses and two granddaughters. Allan has been buried near his father and grandparents in Indiana, Pennsylvania.
