GPNJ Chair Earl Gray - In Memorium

Earl Gray, Chair of the Green Party of New Jersey, died on Friday May 20, 2005, after a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis. On this page, we will post writings from our members and friends of Earl as a way of remembering him. This is a grave loss for our party, for Earl's family, and for his friends.

Earl was one of the earliest members of GPNJ, having attended the opening convention in 1997 and attending all of the conventions afterward. He served in many capacities: Coordinator of the Monmouth local, chair of the GPNJ Policy Committee, GPNJ Secretary, Vice Chair, and Chair, and candidate for the New Jersey State Senate.

The following eulogy was written and delivered on behalf of GPNJ at Earl's funeral on May 24, 2005 by Steve Welzer of Mercer County:

We encountered Earl Gray and he encountered us at our very first Green Party of New Jersey convention in 1997. He was skeptical at first. He didn't come back for a couple of months. But gradually he got comfortable with our type. We got comfortable with Earl, and then we came to love him.

Earl was our official policy wonk. Who will ever forget Earl's diagrams? He had a diagram for every situation, for every issue. They graphically showed his ideas for equity, justice, democracy, and peace.

Earl was the kind of leader who made it his personal business to do the grunt work and pay attention to the details. For just about every state Green Party convention after that first one, Earl was always among those who arrived - every year - at 8 a.m. to be sure that the building got opened up on time; who helped us track down the Campus Police when we invariably discovered that the building had not been opened up on time; and who then, once we finally got inside, attended to everything that needed to be set up .. the coffee pots, the tables and chairs and banners and literature .. And the books, of course, the books.

I try to keep up with the literature, but Earl was always ahead of me, always a resource for me and for all of us when it came to knowing the latest important Green books. Knowing and sharing ... the man was a walking lending library. He read voraciously and somehow always ferreted out the best and most timely ideas.

If you ever saw one of the books he was reading, with all the underlines and annotations in the margins, you could see how he was a very active reader - because he was a very active thinker. And an active, very special, very dear ... diagrammer.

If the world would learn to dance according to Earl's diagrams of hope it would be a much better, much Greener place. He was, for all peace, justice, and ecology activists in New Jersey, a cherished leader who will be sorely missed.

Green gubernatorial candidate Matt Thieke writes:

If you never met Earl Gray, our state chairman who just passed away, you missed a great person. He was one of the founding members of the NJ Green Party organization in 1997, served in many leadership roles, and ran for office as a Green candidate a number of times.

Earl traveled all over NJ, wherever there was an event where Greens were present. He was like our Energizer Bunny -- he kept going, and going. Even as his health failed and he had to carry an oxygen tank with him, he kept going! And although he had to slow down, he did it all cheerfully, with good humor.

Above all, Earl was kind, wise, polite, and unafraid. He had big ideas, and he thought long-term. He could debate policy and theory with anyone, but he never let a disagreement become personal, or take the low road. Whenever he lost his temper or thought he had crossed a line, he was quick to make a sincere apology. He was a role model.

This may be a bad analogy, but I just saw the new Star Wars movie, (I've seen 'em all) and when I heard the news about Earl, my first thought was that he reminded me of the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. In the early movies, the old Obi-Wan was played by Alec Guinness, (a gentleman and a scholar in his own right). The old Obi-Wan took a young Luke Skywalker under his care and mentored him to become a Jedi Knight and use the Good side of the Force. (Jedi Knights were the peace-keepers). Obi-Wan had no fear and gave himself up completely.

Earl was our Obi-Wan. Our mentor, teaching us newer, younger Greens with kindness and dedication. Brave in battle, always going forward. Never giving in to hate, fear, or arrogance (those are what lead to the Dark Side).
I hope we have learned well and remember his lessons. We have big shoes to fill.

Founding GPNJ member Madelyn Hoffman writes:

Earl... made it possible for me to run for Governor in 1997 and he helped keep me sane in 1998 when things got rough. I have so many good memories of him, I don't really know where to start. Earl Gray was one of the most supportive people I ever had the privilege to know. In the earliest days of the Green Party's participation in electoral politics, Earl was always there. He wouldn't let doubt or uncertainty creep in. He was at almost every campaign event. He did the heavy lifting much of the time (chairs, tables and tents) despite his age and health. He gave of himself without measure. In fact, I remember spending hours driving to places previously unknown to put up lawn signs along the road.

With every e-mail I read [from his Green friends], I become more emotional and more deeply saddened. The world has truly lost a special person. I remember all of Earl Gray's most wonderful qualities and ambitious, utopian ideas. Most importantly, I remember his smile, his support and his passion for a better world. I am sorry that I haven't seen him or spoken to him much over the past few years, but he remains near and dear to my heart. We will all miss Earl.

Acting GPNJ Chair Jane Hunter writes for Greensweek (the GP-US weekly newsletter):

Green Party of New Jersey Chair Earl Gray died on Friday, May 20, of pulmonary fibrosis. Earl joined the Green Party of New Jersey in 1997. During the next 8 years Earl served terms as Monmouth County Coordinator, GPNJ Secretary, Vice-Chair, acting Chair and Chair, as well as heading the GPNJ Policy Committee from its formation. He also served terms on the GP-US Platform and International Committees. He worked tirelessly for the Green Party and for Green values until the day of his death--reviewing new information on renewable energy devices from his hospital bed!

During his 2003 campaign for NJ Senate, he gained notice both for his active campaign despite his failing health (he required constant oxygen and campaigned with a portable oxygen tank in a rollaround suitcase!) and for embodying Green values in his campaign conduct. "His courage, conviction and class have stood out in the down-and-dirty 12th District Senate campaign," read an Asbury Park Press editorial about Gray days before the 2003 election.

Earl had a doctorate in history from Rutgers University and did post-graduate study with famed historian Arnold Toynbee. He was a history professor before he worked as a technical writer for a computer company. Following his 1991 retirement, he worked as a school-bus driver and as a manager of a nonprofit boarding house for the homeless in Red Bank.

He was at heart and in practice an educator, and he helped enormous numbers of Greens articulate Green positions and Green ideas. Gray spent hundreds of hours training potential Green candidates, teaching them how to articulate their ideas. And he spent countless hours "tabling" at fairs and other community events passing out literature and talking to people. He really believed that dealing with people one on one, face to face, was the best way to reach out. It was the idea of politics with a human face that originally attracted him to the party.

Earl will be missed by Green colleagues everywhere.

From Roger Merle (Cumberland County Greens):

I wish to add my voice to those mourning the death of Earl Grey. As he will no longer be with us to lead by example, it is incumbent upon us to follow his example, by emulating those qualities of character which made him the valued and trusted friend he was. We are diminished by his absence only if we fail to honor his memory, and build upon his contributions.

I am given to understand that all Greens live by the ten pillars; yet would like to believe that we, in New Jersey, had an eleventh--Earl, and his passing should be an occasion to rededicate ourselves to the vision of a better future that we all shared.