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Alvin Gray

Alvin Gray

Alvin Gray, the former local president of Cleveland ORT and the president of American ORT (1982-1986), died March 29, at 92.

He was fundraising chairman, secretary and vice president of World ORT. He made more than 50 trips on behalf of ORT over the years, and was named the Man of the Year by the Cleveland chapter of Men’s ORT in 1986.

In addition to his work with ORT, Gray was a board member of American Jewish Congress, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and HIAS, and was a delegate to the Council of Jewish Federations.

He was on the board of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.

He participated in the First and Second World Conferences on Soviet Jewry in Brussels and he made six trips to the Soviet Union to visit refusniks, twice being detained by the KGB.

He was the chair of the resettlement task force for Soviet Jews and was a member of the board of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry and chairm of the Cleveland Lawyers for Justice for Soviet Jews.

He was honored by the Smithsonian Institute for his work at the Smithsonian Aviation and Space Museum in Washington DC, supporting the restoration of the Enola Gay, the Hiroshima atomic bomber, and the Hawker Hurricane, which was used predominantly by the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain in 1940.

Gray was the sponsor of two PBS programs, Wall Street Week and Washington Week in Review. He became an expert on Japanese stocks in the 1960s, and visited more than 70 countries making several around the world trips.

He earned his law degree from Case Western Reserve University following his service in the US Navy. He was the father of two daughters, Lottie and Rachel, and the grandfather of Azzizi.

A private burial was held.

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