With sadness, members of the Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) acknowledge the passing of Anthony Gray, a former executive director of CASW.
Mr. Gray was born in Richmond, Quebec, on March 2, 1942. In 1964 he completed a Bachelor of Arts at Loyola College, where he majored in English and biology. During his final years in university he volunteered at the Benedict Labre House, a mission committed to providing for those in need in an area of Montreal known as Griffin Town. According to the Globe and Mail (Monday, January 9, 2006), this experience inspired Mr. Gray’s life-long commitment to help the poor.
Mr. Gray worked as a family caseworker in Montreal until 1967, when he moved to Ontario to get a Master of Social Work degree from Waterloo Lutheran University, now Wilfred Laurier University. In 1970 Mr. Gray moved to Ottawa, where he worked for the Department of Health and Welfare and for the Secretary of State. Mr. Gray taught social policy and public administration at the University of Ottawa as well as courses at Algonquin and Marie-Victorin Colleges. He was executive director of CASW from 1972 to 1978. In 1984 Mr. Gray moved his family to Fort Smith, North West Territories, where he took up a superintendent position with the territory’s department of social services.
Despite a battle with flesh-eating disease in 2001, Mr. Gray continued his commitment to helping those in need, working as the director of the Benedict Labre House and showing compassion and support for Montreal’s homeless.
Mr. Gray died in Greenfield Park, Quebec, on November 20, 2005. He was 63 and is survived by his wife, Marie Nicole, and children Matthew, Timothy, Kathleen, and Christopher.
(Information taken from The Globe and Mail, Monday, January 9, 2006)