John Lewis Gray was born on July 4, 1920, in Falls Church, Virginia. In 1941, he received his BS degree in Forestry from Pennsylvania State College, and in 1942 he earned a MF degree from Yale University. In 1969, he was awarded the DF degree in Forestry Economics from Duke University.

In 1942, he joined the U.S. Air Force and rose from private, to 2nd Lieutenant, Fighter Control Systems (Communications). From 1945 to 1963, he worked as Extension Forester for the North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service, North Carolina State College, Raleigh.

Coming to the University of Florida's School of Forestry in October 1963, Dr. Gray became a moving force behind many excellent developments in the School, the University, and the profession. His leadership kept the School in step with the University's move toward becoming a major research institution while maintaining strong academic programs for educating professionals to serve the natural resource needs of society. While Director, John Gray strengthened the Masters program and initiated a Ph.D. program plan, which later was approved by the Board of Regents.

He recruited and supported a Forest Biology faculty which has established research prominence; spearheaded the building of a new facility, Newins-Ziegler Hall, for the School's teaching, research, and extension programs; developed separate majors in Wildlife Ecology and Range Ecosystem Management; established effective joint venture relationships with state and federal agencies, private industry, and conservation organizations which still exist today.

In 1977, Dr. Gray went to Washington, D.C., on a one-year sabbatical assignment as Research Forester, with the U.S. Forest Service. He was selected to serve as Director of the Pinchot Institute for Conservation Studies where he retired in 1982. Currently, Dr. Gray is a self-employed forest policy consultant in Little Rock, Arkansas, and a Senior Associate in the Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development. Among his many other rewards and recognitions, The John Gray Fund for Excellence in Forest Resources and Conservation was established by the SHARE Foundation and by the School of Forest Resources and Conservation and its success is indicative of his professional and personal reputation.