Brother, son, uncle, music lover

Alan E. Wray was born, October 11, 1961 in Pomona. He grew up in Claremont, where he was the fifth of five children born to Bob and Daisy Wray. 

He attended Pomona’s El Camino School for developmentally disabled children until he was 21. Soon after he joined the Ontario-Pomona Association of Retarded Citizens (OPARC) workshop, where he worked on a landscaping crew that maintained small commercial lawns in the local area.  

He retired from OPARC in 2011 and continued to live at home with his dad until his father’s death in 2012. At that time, he moved to Baltimore, Maryland, to live with his oldest sister, Shirley, where he attended Welcome Friends adult medical daycare for four years, and was a member of Chase United Methodist Church in Chase, Maryland. In 2018 he moved back to California and lived with his sister and her husband in Hemet, where he resided until his death.

He loved his music and operating the equipment it played on—vinyl records, cassette tapes and CDs. 

“Famous for his handshakes, Alan was a blessing and a joy to everyone he met,” his family shared. “He loved to be helpful and took pride in performing small chores around the house, like bringing in the morning newspaper and putting the trash cans out at the curb once a week.”  

He is predeceased by his parents, Bob and Daisy Wray. 

He is survived by four remaining siblings and their spouses, Shirley and Frank Sours of Hemet; Susan and John Swarzkopf of Riverside, California; Philip and Barbara Wray of Upland, his twin brother, Scott, and Amanda Wray of Manson, Washington; one niece; three nephews; and a great niece and nephew.   

In lieu of flowers the family is requesting donations be made to OPARC adult development center at oparc.org/donate; or to Welcome Friends ADMC at welcomefriendsmdc.com.