Andrew Gray Obituary – Beverly resident Andrew Gray, 44, died at home on Tuesday, March 28. Peter and Phyllis (Nelson) Gray, born in Portland, Maine, raised him in Vermont. Andrew was the loving father of 6-year-old Martin (Marty) Jacobs Gray and the 14-year-old spouse of Ethan Jacobs. Andrew pursued his childhood passion in science with a PhD in microbiology from Harvard University, a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California-San Francisco, and a development scientist position at New England Biolabs in Ipswich, MA.
He was a beloved coworker, mentor, and friend in each of these contexts. They admired his warmth, scientific curiosity, resourcefulness, and humor. Andrew loved board games and spending an evening with pals playing strategy games (the nerdier the better) until the early hours. He loved games’ complexity, challenge, and competition, but most of all, he loved spending time with loved ones. (and hopefully beat them handily). Board games brought him close acquaintances in Boston, the Bay Area, the North Shore, and Vermont.
Andrew loved hiking, whether as a kid crossing Vermont to get his Eagle Scout rank or as an adult in Yosemite, Big Sur, or Beverly. In honor of his mother, Phyllis, and his cousin-in-law, Esther Potter, he cycled twice in the Pan Mass Challenge for Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Zaff Family Fund, respectively. Andrew devotedly married. He and Ethan met in Boston in 2004, married in Cape Cod in 2008, and moved to Berkeley and San Francisco in 2009 for Andrew’s post-doctoral work and Ethan’s graduate school.
In 2016, they moved to Salem and Beverly, their first homes. Andrew loved being able to walk to the beach or downtown for great burritos or over the water to Salem Willows for arcade games and ice cream. Marty changed Andrew’s life in 2017. Andrew was a great parent and Marty’s best friend. He loved playing basketball, trampoline, Legos, monster truck and motorbike paintings, and puddle soccer in the rain.
Andrew joined Marty’s soccer squad as an assistant coach, inspiring the kids with his excitement and loud voice. Andrew liked board games, science fiction movies and TV shows, country music, classical music, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and Vermont maple creemees in summer. He knew the Scrabble 2-letter word list by memory, but he let you look up words to make the game fair. He liked dad jokes, stupid puns, and maple-tinis. He was friendly, witty, empathetic, and family-oriented.
Andrew is survived by his wife, son, father, sister, Kristen Gray Jafflin, nephew, Lucas, niece, Lily, stepmother, Pamela Blake, and grandfather, Donald Gray. The Campbell Funeral Home, 525 Cabot Street, Beverly, will host Andrew’s funeral at noon on Wednesday, April 5, 2023. Invite family and friends. Beverly’s Central Cemetery will host the burial afterward. The Brain and Behavior Research Foundation accepts Andrew’s memorial donations.