MANALAPAN – Jim Gray, 76, a former Republican township committeeman and mayor of Manalapan, has died.
Gray’s death on July 24 was confirmed by Manalapan Mayor Susan Cohen, who said a memorial service for the former mayor will be held at 11 a.m. on Aug. 3 at the Manalapan municipal building, 120 Freehold Road (Route 522).
During a meeting of the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders on July 25, the freeholders observed a moment of silence in honor of Gray, who worked as the board’s clerk following his years in Manalapan’s government.
Gray served on the Township Committee in Manalapan from 1984 through 1998. He was selected by his fellow members of the governing body to serve as mayor in 1985, 1988, 1992, 1995 and 1998. He was selected to serve as deputy mayor in 1990, 1991 and 1994.
The Gray family was one of the Manalapan families who were directly impacted by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Jim and Janet Gray’s son, Christopher Gray, 32, a bond trader with Cantor Fitzgerald, died at the World Trade Center in New York City.
At a memorial service for his son in the aftermath of the attacks, Jim Gray, speaking for himself and his wife, said they would miss “Chris’ smile, his passion for living and his empty Gatorade bottles.”
Gray said his son would be remembered as “his mother’s treasure and his father’s hero.”