It was a dark and stormy night December 29th, 1990 in a land far far away….(well actually, the storm didn’t happen until the 30th and it was Spokane Washington not a land far far away-it’s only 3 hours from Pasco…) and Alexander Wray entered the world his way-much like he did everything that he wanted to do. Alex tried for backwards and after a long struggle of the Dr saying no way Al conceded and arrived. The consequence of his action was being whisked away to the NICU and separated from his mother, both of which were having none of that. After several hours of unrelenting noise from several floors in the hospital, the staff gave in and were rewarded with blissful silence and Mother and son were happy.

 Early on it became apparent that this one was smart. Instead of crawling to where he wanted to go, he would scoot backwards or roll all the way over to the target. If it was too far and would make him dizzy, he would simply lift his arms and yell “UP!!!” until you came and took him where he wanted to go. He always loved animals and the cats of the house loved his gentleness and would curl up with their furless brother. It was common to see him asleep with a cat and a book.

Alex grew up in Spokane Washington and attended school there while spending free time with his Grandfather Bill. Those two shared the love of all things science and created experiments and projects daily. One Christmas Grandpa Bill handed Alex his VERY heavy present and Alex squealed with delight. “It’s a DICTIONARY!!! It IS a Dictionary!!!” And his serious love for words began anew. Alex started reading at a very early age and loved to read to you. He was often found reading out loud in the kitchen to keep you entertained while doing dishes or simple chores that you tended to extend so you could get more of the story…

In the year 2000, Alex and his family moved to Pasco Washington. His Grandfather would often travel from Spokane to help with the family business so their scientific shenanigans continued… Alex enjoyed trying sports at school, basketball, track, cross country and band. He played trumpet for several years much to the chagrin of the neighborhood and practiced dutifully. He enjoyed all of these activities but it became apparent that the love of the outdoors was stronger. He joined Cub Scouts while living in Spokane and continued through Boy Scouts here, making friends and enjoying camping, fishing, hiking, and SCIENCE! Rockets were a hit and he spent hours upon hours building the perfect rocket. He enjoyed making things from scratch and cooking for the campers. His love of cooking continued on through his whole life and he was known to make some very unusual dishes and loved to bring them to share. Alex went to the Boy Scout National Jamboree and had an amazing adventure that he talked about often and planned on getting his Eagle Scout but his Grandfather was battling cancer at the time so that goal slipped away. He proudly graduated Pasco High in 2009. Alex had many hobbies from collecting fossils, coins and foreign money to painting and sculpture and was not afraid to try new things. He loved sewing and the constructing of an idea and was always most excited about the “Voila!!!” (You know the moment the project is revealed and shared with the ones you love.)

 Alex worked in a variety of fields, always hard working and an excellent employee while continuing his studies, working in the ever-growing field of computers. Alex repaired phones and computers for a while as well as working on programing and the new field of A-I. He had several games in production as well as working on publishing a comic book. When asked his occupation and we immediately replied “Mad Scientist” there was an exchange of looks and the suggestion of “Inventor” as the former would raise questions with the state…

Alexander was known as a kind a quirky soul. He enjoyed being useful and helpful to others. He loved creating things, from science projects to artwork. His unique sense of humor always got you laughing no matter how tough a day you had. He gave the best hugs that we will miss. Our Amazing Alex left us for a new adventure and is definitely up to no good with Grandpa Bill in heaven.

Until we meet again, miss you.