Parents: Minnie Christoffersen Dray, was born December 8, 1889 in Montpelier Idaho. Her first home was in Crater (now Alexander). Henry Clay Dray was born March 5, 1886 in LaGrande, Oregon. Minnie was living in Kemmerer, Wyoming when she met Henry Clay where he was working for the railroad. He staked money on her being the most popular girl and the railroad men helped him to win a diamond ring for her in the contest. He also gave her an opal engagement ring. Both rings were later stolen by a girl (a transient) who stayed there with them. The couple was married on October 22, 1907 and they lived in Oregon where her husband worked as a railroad fireman.
Growing Up: Henry Albert Dray was born in LaGrande, Oregon on August 5, 1912. His older sister, Eveline, was 2 ½ years older than him and was born December 16, 1909 in LaGrande. The family lived in a one-room house and would open up their doors to anyone who needed a job or a meal and would occasionally put someone up for a few days. During this time his father was promoted as an engineer for the railroad and held the position for about a year. He died at the age of 28 from pneumonia at the St. Vincent Hospital in LaGrande when Henry was only 1 ½ years old. The family remained in LaGrande for another three years but as a young widow with two children, his mother moved the family to Soda Springs, Idaho to be near her mother, Sena Christoffersen. In November of 1917, she took a job as telephone operator in town to support her family, a job she maintained for 37 years. It was a small switchboard with headsets, hand-dialed telephones and party lines. She later went on to become the mamager of the telephone office in Soda Springs, Idaho in 1931 where she worked until her retirement in January of 1955. She was given unlimited telephone usage as part of her retirement package which she rarely used. His grandmother Christoffersen, affectionately known as “Little Grandma” due to her being so petite, was also widowed and helped raise both children. She became a second mother to them. The family lived in a small house. Henry did farm chores such as tending the vegetable garden and milking the family cow. His sister noted that he was a good student in school. During this time his Aunt Lettie, Grandma Christoffersen’s daughter, and her family moved in with them for a while.
Work & Marriage: Henry graduated from high school and took the job of a call boy for the railroad. He called the crew out to go out to the railroad when it was time to work. This was a summer job between high school and college (1 year). During this period, Henry took a fall, landing on his face which resulted in a broken tooth. Although the growing up years were hard, Henry had the desire to get ahead through hard work and study. By working several jobs he was able to put himself through business school at the University of Utah. He worked for the Moxom Hotel as a clerk and bellhop as well as for General Motors Acceptance Corp. and Utah Power and Light all in Salt Lake City. After graduating in 1935, he was able to secure a job with Western States Grocery, which later became Safeway in Missoula, Montana initially as a bookkeeper and a night clerk and remained within the food industry throughout his entire life’s career.
Summer Marriage: While working in Montana as a store manager for Safeway Foods, he met his sweetheart, Wanda Anderson, on one of his trips to Salt Lake. She was training to be a nurse at the LDS School of Nursing. It was a long distance relationship until Henry was able to save up enough money to send for her, which he did, and the couple was married November 9, 1935. Wanda Anderson was born to Andrew and Victoria Anderson on March 6, 1914 in a little town called Pleasant Green, Utah which is now known as Magna due to the Kennecott Copper Company’s significant presence.
Children: Four children were born under this union. The first children born to the couple were JoAnn who was born July 29, 1937, followed shortly after by her brother, Dennis, born April 25, 1939 both in Missoula, Montana. A new chapel was being constructed which required volunteer labor of carpentry, painting, roofing etc. Wanda would take the two children down to the site and bring Henry a nice lunch as he worked. The family lived in a tenement building at the time and Henry’s cousin, Donald Cochran (Annie’s son) lived with the family while he attended high school for a couple of years. The family enjoyed a lot of activities with their friends and went on family vacations to such places as Yellowstone National Park all of which were recorded by the family movie camera. Unfortunately, Henry was the self-appointed cameraman so not too many shots were of him. But there were the fishing and hunting trips, camping out and cooking over an open fire, feeding the chipmunks and deer, and enjoying road trips. For dinner, Wanda and the other women would fry the fish in an old iron frying pan that was used for many years thereafter. The men would put on their long-legged boots and bring their “catch of the day” in their fishing creels to the women for cleaning and cooking. When it was time for an old-fashioned picnic, it was fun to see the frying pan throwing contest by the women and pie eating contest with the younger kids as well as the comical three-legged race by old and young alike. In addition, the family would often visit Henry’s mother, Minnie, in Montpelier, Idaho and make the trip in their Nash car with a rumble seat in the back for the kids. The seat folded down and converted into a bed or a trunk. Her house was very small, so Wanda and the children would sleep in the house while the men would pitch tents and sleep outside in the grass divider across the street. The big attraction was the Soda Springs geyser which as set off daily by a caretaker about noon. Hot steaming water would shoot into the air 30-40 feet against the bright blue sky. Another brief move was made to Oakland, California in 1940 for a couple of months before taking a position in New York City. The family stayed in the Roosevelt Hotel until a home could be found. The first home was a rental found in Flushing (Queens), New York which provided for a good joke from Wanda’s sister, Jenna Vee, who addressed a letter to “Miss Loada Manure”, meaning Wanda. Later, a home was purchased in Flushing that looked a lot like a ginger-bread house. On the first day of kindergarten for Denny, he ran all the way home to go to the bathroom. During this time, there was a world war going on and the family rationed all of their commodities such as gas, sugar, butter, nylons and even shoes. Henry was in the Guard but never went on active duty due to his eyesight (he wore glasses). While in Flushing, their third child, Shirley was born on April 22, 1944. While mother and daughter were in the hospital, Henry took the kids to the Ringling Brothers’ Circus. About two years later, Wanda’s father, Andrew Anderson, developed cancer and died on July 19, 1946. Wanda spent the summer in Utah with the children. It was at this time that Henry found a better job in Albany, New York. He found a beautiful brick home in Hampton Manor which he purchased and the company even took care of the expense of moving. Henry’s frugality helped pay off their mortgage of $20,000 within five years and he practiced thrift his entire life by paying cash as he went, never using credit. The family lived in the home for about a year when It was at this time that his fourth son, James was born into the family on December 12, 1947.
The Children Grow Up: JoAnn graduated from high school and left for BYU, shortly followed by Dennis attending the same university. Dennis later went on a mission to the French East Mission for the Church for two years. JoAnn went on to get a degree in nursing from Columbia University and then married Clyde Louk and moved to Seattle, Washington. She later remarried John Humphrey and then Mike Axton. Denny returned from his mission and married Linda Carpenter while attending BYU. They moved to Boston so that Denny could get his degree in dentistry from Tufts University. Shirley graduated from high school and attended BYU where she met her husband-to-be, Arland Thornton. Jim followed suit by attending the same university as his older siblings and went on a mission to the Western States Mission in New Mexico, Kansas and Colorado. Upon returning from his mission and finishing up at BYU, he met his wife-to-be, Linda Misluk and was remarried to Lilon Quist. It seemed that all of the children returned to New York in the summers to work for Monarch Foods.
Work: Henry worked for the Jonathan Levi Company and WGY Foods as a buyer. The company later became Monarch Foods which distributed wholesale groceries to restaurants, schools, hospitals and summer camps. He was one of the company’s top buyers and later became manager by working long, hard hours He developed an impressive list of customers that included a good part of northern and eastern New York. He put his sons and daughters (including in-laws) to work to help them earn money for college. He loved the industry food shows where he could meet many of his colleagues and would often bring home samples, including escargot, turtle soup, pate de foie gras, etc. One time he brought home a whole case of jumbo fantail shrimp! Because of his job, he visited many restaurants who were either customers or potential customers. His children learned about proper etiquette and finger bowls as well as acquiring taste for lobster, steamers, frogs legs, escargot and steak! A favorite haunt on Friday nights was at Howard Johnsons when the menu offered all the fried clams you could eat! He also used his job as an opportunity for his children to work at such jobs as office clerk, warehouseman, and truck driver helping them to earn tuition for college. He generously helped each of his children through college where he could and would frequently put a little money into their hands just to help out.
Vacations: A couple of memorable vacations included going to Niagara Falls as a family and riding the Maid of the mist under the falls, while everyone was decked out in their black rain clickers. Another trip was down the Hudson River on the Day Liner. Yet another was driving out west with Dennis to do some fishing, sightseeing and visiting of relatives. Both Henry and Wanda had the rare privilege of going to China with their daughter, JoAnn but all in all Henry took few vacations. He always preferred staying at home where he was comfortable.
Boy Scouts: Henry joined the Boy Scout movement when his son, Dennis turned 11 and he became a scout advisor. He continued in that capacity again when his second son, Jim also turned 11. He was driving the boys on different campouts or hikes or talking to them about advancement and merit badges. It was his driving influence that saw Troop 44 have its first Eagle Scout when Dennis achieved that rank and again years later when Jim received his Eagle Scout with two other boys simultaneously On one outing, the scouts hiked all the way up to Mt. Marcy, the tallest point in New York State. Henry stayed down at the base camp for the couple of days they were gone and was asked to prepare the final meal for the return home for the boys once they descended down the mountain. He discovered that he didn’t have a can opener or any salt for the meal (beef stew). At the end of the second day, a weary group of boys and adults wandered into the base camp to find the stew was cooking and done to perfection through Henry’s ingenuity and improvising.
Church: Both Henry and Wanda have always been members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Henry was blessed on September 1, 1912 by Joseph Price, baptized on January 28, 1921 by Jediah G. Merrill and confirmed by W. Louis Perkins the same day. He was later ordained a Priest on March 9, 1930 by Herman Hoff at the age of 17 and was ordained a High Priest on September 22, 1985 by Theodore Glenn Bosworth, his home teacher. The family attended the LDS Church in Albany and each were taught the same ideals at home. At the time that the family moved there in 1946, there were only six families that were members in this little, fledgling branch. The first meeting hall was in a bar; beer bottles and debris had to be swept away before church could convene on Sunday morning. Then, the growing little branch moved to a hall in the YWCA and finally, the first “purchased” building was a converted Jewish Synagogue that required a complete renovation where many hours were again donated for painting, carpentry, etc. from the members. Elder Ezra Taft Benson, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve and the Secretary of Agriculture under President Eisenhower, dedicated this chapel in 1954. One more move involved the new construction of the chapel located in Loudonville where volunteer hours were spent on its construction, which was a branch that became a ward, and shortly to become a stake center. When this occurred, Elder Mark E. Peterson, also a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, dedicated this beautiful facility. Although Henry and Wanda were both active members in the early 1950’s, there were many years that they stopped going. They always encouraged their children to attend each week through transportation and not accepting any excuses for missing. One time that meant a lot to his son, Jim, was when he was called to go on a mission. He did not have a missionary farewell as was the custom at the time. So in the middle of the last Sacrament meeting before leaving to the mission training center, Henry stood up and interrupted the meeting (much to the chagrin of Jim). He took a couple of minutes saying how proud he was of his son going on a mission and wanted the congregation to know it! After a number of years, both Henry and Wanda returned to full activity after overcoming some personal habits that kept them from church. They both helped the growth of the ward through their various callings and service as soon as they moved into the area and served in their twilight years as well. After Wanda passed away, Henry was one of the oldest members of the ward and certainly the longest attending member which earned him the unofficial distinction of “Father of the Ward”. It is interesting to see the profound influence of Henry and Wanda who raised their children in the Church with high moral values and personal character. These same attributes are being passed along to many of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren who are exemplifying these traits.
Daily Life in Hampton Manor: Coming home from work, Henry would always toot the horn and give Wanda a little love pinch. The children would always turn their heads in disgust but it was reassuring to see their love. The family always had traditions that were started by Henry. One such was the drive in the car. Everyone piled in and would travel down any old road; Henry never seemed to get lost. At the end he would say “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!” and the outing was concluded with a frozen treat. Another was Friday nights. “Let’s make sure there’s enough firewood” as the kids would each bring in a load for the fireplace while pizza was being made for dinner that was enjoyed in the basement next to the fireplace. And Christmas was the time for Henry to make sure that Santa had left while he went down the basement and made the fire. Only he could pass out the presents. One year, Dennis gave him a roll of toilet paper in a very large box. Henry declared that only he could use that roll! Another year mother decided to put up her nylons for her stocking. Everyone was curious to see how Santa would fill it. Low and behold in the morning the stocking was stuffed with a single $100 dollar bill.
Home Work: It was probably when he first learned to milk a cow every day that Henry picked up the love of work. Whether at home or at the office, he would immerse himself in whatever he was involved in. At home, he had a love/hate affair with the trees that were on the property. Most of the larger trees were taken down, chopped up into firewood, and the stumps dug up out of the earth by hand. But every night throughout the winter, the toasty fire warmed everyone up as they watched TV by the hearth. If that weren’t enough, he would ask his neighbors for any wood that they might have from a tree being taken down. One of the favorite pictures is of Henry bringing up a load of wood from the back garage. The upper level of the back garage was a favorite hangout for Henry. This was his workshop where all of his (and many of the neighbors’) tools were found. It was here that a lot of the home projects were carried out. When new technology was introduced, it was tested in the garage. For a while duct tape was the preferred method for fixing things. Then, the hot glue gun was later used for all repairs. Whatever could be fixed was repaired and used; there was hardly anything that was deemed fit for the trash. Then there was the era of small engines. The lawn mower stopped running and before you knew it, the garage was turned into a lawnmower repair shop.
Retirement: Henry retired at the age of 72 from Wilco Foods in Clifton Park, New York. Still residing at Hampton Manor, he consulted for a couple of years and tried to keep up with the food industry, but gave in to stain glass sun-catchers, working in the yard, and doing various projects around the house which never seemed to get easier with time. He became very active in church and was called to be Elders Quorum secretary, a calling he had for many years before. He later was ordained a High Priest and was secretary of the High Priests’ Quorum for many years. He was a loyal home teacher that almost always got 100% of his families visited each month. He volunteered at the church welfare farm by tending to corn and other vegetables, as well as planting flowers in the island of the church parking lot.
Temple Marriage: There is one lesson that seems to stand above and beyond many others. Henry and Wanda were wedded and lived together for sixty years until the time of Wanda’s death. There were good times and bad times and yet they continued together. In contrast 10% of today’s population is divorced. Furthermore, they both were able to overcome their own personal shortcomings and were sealed in the Washington, D.C. temple in September 6, 1991 for time and all eternity. There was one special home teacher, Ted Bosworth, who refused to have his home teaching route changed and saw to it that Henry and Wanda not leave this earth without being properly sealed to each other. It was the first time either Henry or Wanda had been through the temple, so Dennis and Jim assisted Henry while Shirley and JoAnn helped Wanda as they both received their endowments. The family witnessed the sacred vows that each made over the temple alters as the temple officiator sealed the husband to the wife, and then each of the children in turn to the parents beginning with the eldest down to the youngest. At the same time, Wanda was proxy for Henry’s mother, Minnie while Henry was sealed to his mother. Jenna Vee, Wanda’s sister was also part of the group that went through that day. Jim acted as proxy for Jenna Vee’s late husband, Paul Smith, as she was sealed to her husband. Maturity Three and a half years later, after a series of setbacks in Wanda’s health, Henry’s wife of nearly 60 years, passed away on March 31, 1995. The reality sunk in hard after she was gone and Henry found himself living alone. He really tried to take care of the lovely gardens that Wanda had nurtured all of those years. It had been his job to take orders for the care of the gardens and the yard and to take movie pictures of the blooms. But he found himself not even knowing the difference between a weed and a flower. For four years he lived alone. It was especially hard on him because now he was living alone in the house that held so many memories. He managed quite well for a while until he suffered a serious setback that would change his life forever. One day he found himself not able to get up from the floor and there was no way he could call for help. An unanswered phone alerted a daughter to call the neighbor to check on him. It was discovered that he had suffered a subdural hematoma, a blood clot within the cranial cavity, which required immediate surgery. Henry came full circle in a matter of a very short period of time, requiring much care and attention. In contrast to someone who was always in charge and focused in his life, he became dependent on others and only able to communicate in the present moment. And yet, he became mellow and very appreciative of everyone who assisted him in any way. After a time, Henry’s body just grew old and worn out. His mind couldn’t remember from one minute to the next and he literally existed in the present time only. For the most part, his daughter Shirley looked after his care while he lived in an assisted living residence. For nine years and two days he lived without his eternal companion, Wanda. But on April 2, 2004 at the age of 91 he joined her and other loved ones that he had been apart from for so many years and passed into eternity quietly and peacefully at his residence in Ann Arbor. Both Henry and Wanda have left a legacy. As of this day, April 2, 2004, the couple have 4 children, 13 grandchildren, and 29 great-grandchildren. Being passed on from generation to generation are the ideals they taught of their faith, hard work, saving and spending prudently, speaking clean, living clean, and binding families for eternity.