Husker Dan: A Very Sad, Gray Day for Husker Fans

Gerry Gray, longtime sponsor of the Hunt With The Huskers charity event and producer of several Husker radio talk shows and the The Great Outdoors Radio Show with Greg Wagner, passed away Sunday, December 15th at the age of 82.

On the surface, Gerry could be a crusty curmudgeon.  But beneath that tough veneer was a generous, warm, thoughtful and caring man.  I hadn’t seen Gerry in some time, but a voice inside me kept saying, “You need to call Gerry.”  And thankfully last Thursday, I did.  We had a great visit.  He sounded a bit raspy, but said he’d been nursing a cold and was on the rebound.

As was his nature, he ranted about two things that annoyed him the most: his dislike of taking pills and his distrust of doctors.

Although he’d spent time in the hospital recently, his attitude toward physicians hadn’t changed.

“They don’t have an ounce of sense among all of them,” he ranted.  (Of course it was the doctors who had been doing their best to keep him alive!)  It didn’t matter.  Gerry was going to do things his way.

I ended our conversation by telling him that after the holidays, Mrs. Husker Dan and I were going to take him to lunch.

Gerry was always willing to help the nonprofit organization (www.huskersalute.org) I helped found.  He also donated Husker memorabilia for us to use at our events.

Several years ago at our annual Husker Fans Salute The Troops fall event, there was a young military family who had driven all the way from Kentucky to attend.  They had brought with them their young son who at that time was battling a rare type of pediatric brain cancer.

When I found out the family had driven nonstop to attend our event and that they didn’t have much money to get back home, I told Gerry about it.  Without hesitation, he reached into his pocket and handed me a wad of cash (about $400) and told me to give the money to them.  “On one condition,” he added.  “Don’t tell them who gave you the money.”  I complied.  Needless to say, the family was very grateful for Gerry’s gift.

I don’t know too many people who would be that caring.  But that’s the kind of guy Gerry was.  All of us who were lucky to know him will miss him terribly.  The lunch Mrs. Husker Dan and I were going to have with him will have to be set aside for now.  Rest in peace, my friend.

Husker Dan has been a regular contributor to Huskerpedia and HuskerMax since 2003.  You may contact the writer at [email protected].