The world lost a point of light and good when Jane Ellin Gray lost her courageous battle with metastatic breast cancer on April 27, 2022. Jane will be remembered for her 55-year-long partnership with husband, Joe; devotion to her son, Jerry, and grandchildren Madison, Rachel, and Connor; her patience, compassion, and making life better for everyone around her; and for her commitment to advancing understanding and improving treatment of cancers. Jane was born in McCook, Nebraska on August 21, 1946, to Rebecca Scott Madison and James Vernon Madison. She attended school there and graduated from McCook High School in 1964. Growing up in McCook was a special experience for Jane. She knew and liked everyone and was active in elementary school track meets, extra special church group activities, including a bus trip to Chicago, and camping at La Foret near Colorado Springs. High school activities included the Pep Club, Yearbook staff, Math Club, Secretary-Treasurer of Student Council, and Worthy Advisor of Rainbow for Girls. The Madison family then moved to Farmington, New Mexico, and Jane attended the University of New Mexico, where she studied history. She met Joe Gray in Farmington during the summer of 1965, and they were married in 1967. They moved to Golden Colorado, where Joe attended the Colorado School of Mines. Joe and Jane had one son, Gerald (Jerry), there. The family then moved to Manhattan, Kansas in 1969, where Joe pursued a PhD in physics and Jane supported the effort by managing aspects of married student housing. The family moved to Livermore, California in 1972, where Jane was a dedicated mother, supporting Jerry in his youth soccer and skiing activities. She was also the ultimate hostess and “mother hen” to esteemed scientists and students alike, as they passed through the Lawrence Livermore National Lab where Joe worked. Jane was always happy to pack her bag to travel with Joe to meetings and conferences around the world, which included many trips to Europe, Japan, particularly memorable trips to China in 1983 immediately after it reopened to the west, and Australia in 1999. Jane and Joe moved to San Francisco in 1991, when Joe joined the University of California San Francisco and where Jane supported Joe’s work in helping to establish the Cancer Center and Breast Oncology programs. Jane’s international hosting and world-wide travel continued. She also participated in San Francisco community activities, many involving her San Francisco neighborhood of St. Francis Wood, including the Women’s League, Investment Club, and Book Club. She was especially fond of her trips to annual Breast Cancer Think Tank meetings, where international scientists met and still meet to share information and to develop collaborative projects aimed at improving breast cancer treatments. Over the course of 25 years, Jane excelled at bringing participants and significant others together in ways that enlivened the meetings and that stimulated important collaborations. Breast Cancer Think Tank was an annual family reunion of sorts. As in each of Jane's families, she was the mother hen. Newbies were brought under her wing, introduced around, and she demanded elders show family photos and news. She was quick to learn the science niche of each participant and the life story of each non-scientist. Jane's pre-gaming plans made each Think Tank evening special, and each night her circle grew bigger and bigger. Always appreciated by her Think Tank friends, anyone mistaking her as "just a wife" quickly acknowledged the error of judgement. Ironically, Jane was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010 and was treated in the Breast Cancer program at UC San Francisco. Jane and Joe moved to the Portland area in 2011, when Joe accepted a position at the Oregon Health and Science University Knight Cancer Institute. This was a courageous move by Jane, since she had just completed her breast cancer treatments. However, she rolled up her sleeves and helped Joe establish a research program with emphasis on treating advanced cancers that eventually led to the development of the Knight Cancer Institute SMMART advanced cancer treatment program. She became active in a Lake Oswego book club, where she spent fun times with good friends and also participated in the prestigious Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Oregon, an organization that annually supports hundreds of college students through competitive Achievement Awards for college funding in scientific fields. Jane volunteered at the ARCS signature event Scholar Luncheon and sponsored two scholars at OHSU. She continued to attend the Breast Cancer Think Tank Meetings, and her efforts to facilitate interactions with the clinicians and scientists carried on with great success. She also participated in fundraising for the Susan G. Komen breast cancer program and led the establishment of the Joe and Jane Gray Breast Cancer Professorship at OHSU, to support clinical aspects of the SMMART program. Tragically, Jane was feeling unwell during the 2017 Breast Cancer Think Tank meeting and was diagnosed with recurrent, widely metastatic breast cancer upon her return. She then became one of the first beneficiaries of and participants in the SMMART program. Jane prided herself in being a model patient and doing everything she could to help the SMMART team understand and combat the cancer she had. She firmly believed that this would help her and breast cancer patients to come. In so doing, Jane became one of the most carefully studied breast cancer patients in the world. It was her firm belief that knowledge is power, and she wanted to help the world discover what is possible to learn about cancer. Fittingly, and as a credit to her dedication and selflessness, the lessons learned about Jane’s cancer are now published in a major scientific journal, informing the entire research and care communities that strive to improve outcomes for future breast cancer patients. The COVID-19 pandemic derailed her plans for travel, so instead she attended to learning the life histories of her caregivers, who were extraordinary. A “Jane’s nibbles” program has been endowed to provide treats to briefly lighten the day of the devoted medical professionals who work tirelessly on behalf of cancer patients at OHSU. Jane got an extra, precious 5 years because of her participation in the SMMART program. That gave her time to see her grandchildren graduate from high school and enter college. Happily, she enjoyed a wonderful week in Hawaii in February of this year. She wanted more, and her spirt was strong, but her body was not. Jane is survived by her husband of more than 55 years, Joe; her son, Jerry, a patent attorney in the San Francisco area, and daughter-in-law, Karen; three wonderful grandchildren, Madison, now a senior at UCLA, Rachel, now a senior at Arizona State, and Connor, now a sophomore at St. Mary’s; her brother, David Madison (Pat); and sisters Cynthia Ann Lipton (David) and Nancy Reginato (John). A celebration of life will be held at 2:30 PM for Jane on May 22 at the Foundry in Lake Oswego. Donations in lieu of flowers to the OHSU SMMART program, ARCS Oregon OHSU Gray Family Endowment, Jane's Nibbles program, and Jane’s Hope Think Tank travel program will be appreciated by Jane's family and future cancer patients who will be benefitted. Donations to SMMART, Jane’s Nibbles, and the ARCS Oregon OHSU Gray Family Endowment can be made by calling the OHSU Foundation (Keely Barnett, 503-220-8305) or visiting: https://donate.ohsufoundation.org/janegray Donations to the Think Tank travel program can be made by emailing Merlyn Donatien (MDonatien@med.miami.edu).

https://obituaries.neptunesociety.com/obituaries/portland-or/jane-gray-10733861