Harry Gray

Harry Gray’s Journey

Harry Gray of Bowie, Md., passed away June 11, 2020, at Doctors Community Hospital in Lanham, Md. The son of Prudent Gray and Bérénie Labady, Harry was born April 19, 1963, in Miragoâne, a coastal commune in western Haiti. A passionate soccer player, he was well-known around Miragoâne. In 1990, Harry emigrated to the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, earning a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of the District of Columbia in 1994 and marrying Sophia Guerrier in 1997.

He held a number of managerial positions in retail before becoming a patent Formality Reviewer for the U.S. government, a contracting position that he held for 15 years until the first bout with stomach cancer caused him to retire in 2014. After he had recovered from that first bout of cancer, Harry devoted himself to working full-time to Protect the Children's Future (PCF), a nonprofit he had founded in 2011 to improve the lives of disadvantaged children in rural areas of Haiti. He had been so moved by the plight of children he encountered on frequent trips back to the native country that he decided to put a formal structure in place to maximize the impact he could have in making their lives healthier and happier, and their futures brighter. The result was PCF, which sponsors children’s education, hosts annual arts and sports camps, and provides basic necessities such as shoes, clothing, and school supplies for impoverished families in rural areas of Haiti. 

Preceded in death by his father, Harry is survived by his wife, Sophia; children Sebastien, Fabrice, Noé, and Anne-Sophie; sisters Evline, Marie France, and Marjorie; and several nieces and nephews. Donations may be sent to Protect the Children’s Future (https://protectthechildrensfuture.org/), which will continue to work toward achieving Harry’s dream of a better Haiti.