Senate proclamation honors Colville physician

OLYMPIA – Well-known Colville physician Ed Gray on Wednesday got another accolade to add to his large collection: The state Senate passed a resolution in his honor.

Gray, a 1946 graduate of Colville High School, is one of the best-known doctors in Eastern Washington and a longtime public-health official.

In the 1960s, he served as Colville’s public health officer for $10 a month. He helped form the Tri-County Health District – which covers Stevens, Ferry and Pend Oreille counties – in 1975. Four years later, he was a founding physician of Colville’s Northeast Washington Medical Group. He was president of the state medical association in 1985.

Retired from his regular practice in 1994, Gray continues to serve as a city councilman in Colville. Last year, he received the American Medical Association’s Nathan Davis Award, given for outstanding public service in the advancement of public health.

On Wednesday, Gray, his wife, Jane, and longtime colleague Secretary of Health Mary Selecky sat in the oversize Senate rostrum chairs as Sen. Bob Morton, R-Orient, praised Gray’s work.

“We truly have a champion energizer for health in rural Washington,” Morton said.

Gray spoke to the Senate briefly.

“What you see before you is the product of bipartisanship,” he said. “My mother was an Irish-Catholic, Latin-teaching Democrat and my father was a Scotch, continuing-Presbyterian, physician Republican.

“Our family is extremely proud and happy and somewhat overawed to accept this resolution,” he said. “Thank you.”