In Memory

Matthew Wray



 
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09/01/14 07:08 PM #1    

David Frisch

Matt Wray was my boyhood friend from the time my family moved to PF in 1949. My dad was the first dentist in town and the Wray family lived at 58 Elm Street and mine at 56 Elm Street. Matt and I played baseball every day during summer vacations with other guys in our neighborhood. We rode our bikes to the shopping center to get a green river soda at the Grill or went to the CarmelCorn Shop (across from the Clock as I recall). Matt was a quiet young man. Always polite and deferential. He was quite bright. He had a very strict stern father. We had different friends and peer groups as we went to different Junior Highs. I skipped 5th grade which separated our daily lives as well. My family later moved to a different part of town. We retained a more distant friendship throughout high school. I never understood why Matt's life had to end so early (he took his own life at a young age). As a physican I know all too well that we are all visiting. It's sobering to look back and remember our classmates like Terry King-- a man amongst men; and Dave Carty--great guy and wonderful athelete who had shortened lives because of bad luck doing what we all appreciated and respect. Matt's story was always a mistery to me. I have periodically stopped to remember that close early childhood friendship. Our legacies are primarily about who remembers us, and more importantly, how we are remembered. 


09/02/14 08:44 AM #2    

Nancy Watson (Allen)

I too knew Matt from an early age, although I'm not quite sure how. I think it might hve been thrugh Sunday School, at any rate I just can't recall a time I didn't know him. I always wishe I could have  gotten to know him better. As David said, he was a very quiet, smart boy, he was also quite nice and polite. I always thought he would do somthing very special in his life, so I was broken hearted to learn he had taken it at such a young age, I still think of him from time to time, and wonder why.


09/02/14 10:38 AM #3    

Sandra Schechter

I remember Matt and that I really liked him. He was quite shy and quiet and I tried to get closer to him but he withdrew from me, I think due to his shyness. He seemed serious and lonely to me even in elementary school. I heard that his family somehow blamed the people of PF for his death, but I never heard what that was about. I was so sad to hear about his death and have often thought about him and what a gentle person he seemed to be. He is remembered and missed. 


05/28/21 02:11 AM #4    

Jeffrey Ziegler

Matt and I became good friends during our senior year at Rich. We were kindred spirits in many respects and felt very comfortable together. Yes, he was shy and retiring, but he had a special brightness of mind and spirit that was quite wonderful. He was certainly what might be called “a sensitive” — a person blessed with acute perceptions and deep emotions. One fall day he invited me to go birdwatching with him. He seemed so at peace and happy in the natural world. Hey Matt, RIP, perhaps we will meet again! 


05/28/21 12:25 PM #5    

Peter Connor

As I recall him, Matt moved to the beat of a different drummer, which I thought was great...See you again one of these Matt!


05/29/21 11:46 AM #6    

Sheri Steinberg

I don't think I exchanged a handful of words with Matt Wray during our whole high school career, but I was always aware of him as a sensitive, deep-thinking, and vulnerable soul whom I watched surreptitiously, trying to figure out, but afraid to intrude. Then, after graduation, as we were already one step into our futures, Matt approached me for the first time. He looked straight into my eyes and handed me an envelope. I was too startled to react the way I've hoped many times over the years I might've, but took the envelope and briefly held his hand. He'd gifted several of his classmates with descriptions of the birds he knew and loved so well and felt each of us embodied. I reminded him of the ovenbird, a small, somewhat reclusive songbird that walks alone on the forest floor and spends much time migrating. The shock of realizing how deeply he'd seen me and how much he cared about others without being able to reach out and feel our care in return was overwhelming, and I remember standing there amid the graduation euphoria and crying for him and us all. You touched so many of us, Matt. May you rest in peace.


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