Dr. Samuel H. Gray, 87, died on May 7, 2020. He was the eldest of three children born to Dr. & Mrs. Samuel Harold Gray of St. Louis, Missouri. He is predeceased in death by both parents as well as sister and brother. He attended undergraduate school at Washington University in St. Louis and went on to medical school at the University of Missouri. He then advanced to his surgical residency at Mt. Zion Medical Center in San Francisco where he received numerous honors and awards for his excellence in surgery. He was also lauded for his teaching skills, and teaching was one of his many passions. Following his surgical residency, he elected to take an additional year of training as an organ transplant fellow in Denver, under the world famous transplant surgeon, Dr. Carl Starzl. Together, they performed the very first kidney transplantation. Following that fellowship in 1971, he elected to open his general surgery office in Atlanta where he practiced at Shallowford, Northside and St. Joseph's hospitals. His passion for medicine guided his life. His skill, integrity, ethics and devotion to medicine were all exemplary.
He was a fine writer, having contributed articles to Atlanta Medicine for some years. He was also an avid reader and member of many book clubs over the years. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of Classical music. He had a deep emotional connection to music which both comforted and inspired him.
He met and married his present wife, Betty Petree Swims in 1975. Together they have 8 children, 15 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. He adored his wife of 44 years.. His song for her was Rachmaninoff's Concerto #3.
He spent many meditative hours gardening at his home. Southwind, tending the rhododendrons, azaleas, and other special botanical specimens. He marveled at the beauty of nature; the design of a firefly or a leaf or dappled light as it danced through the forest among the flora. He was a Romantic, a dreamer and contemplative. At a party, one could often find him in a small room reading a book he'd found there. As extraordinary as he was a surgeon, that's how terrible he was as a driver. He would often find himself in a distant, unfamiliar location, as his mind wandered onto unrelated subjects. Most everyone was terrified to be in the car with him. When driving with the kids, he would often feel the need to point out a beautiful cloud formation, or a certain way the light reflected off the adjacent landscape, all the while unaware that he had wandered across the center divide and into oncoming traffic, or in the other direction... over the curb! It was felt that he would be safest in a dump truck or a tank. He was movie star handsome. People who met him immediately fell in love with him. He contributed abundantly in so many ways to the world around him. He was complimentary of others and looked for the best in everyone. He was comfortable conversing with a nuclear physicist or the guy in the tire shop. He was a beautiful spirit. He was a gentle soul. He will be missed.
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Glorious Sunset was sent by The Link Counseling Center.