Howard Gray, who led Gray Construction to national prominence, dies at 76

Carl Clifford Howard Gray, who helped guide a Glasgow construction company to national prominence, died on Nov. 5 in Lexington at the age of 76.

While Howard Gray’s name was not as well known as his younger brother, former Lexington Mayor Jim Gray, he took the reins of the family company at the age of 23 after the 1972 death of his father, James Norris Gray.

“I can tell you there would be no Gray Construction were it not for Howard stepping into big shoes at a young age,” Jim Gray said.

Howard, Jim, and their mother, Lois Gray, worked to keep the small company intact, eventually moving its headquarters to the iconic former Wolf Wile department store on Main Street in Lexington. Jim Gray said that in 1981, the two brothers had to take out personal loans at 22% interest — cosigned by their mother — to recapitalize the company that was at the edge of bankruptcy.

“Howard said, ‘We’ll burn these bank notes when we pay these loans back,’“ Jim Gray recalled, and in 1984, they did that.

Howard Gray was CEO for 27 years as Gray became a national leader in design-build services, including projects with Kroger and the U.S. Postal Service.

But it was the company’s exploration of the Japanese market for companies like Toshiba, Hitachi and Toyota that put it on the map, and is why Gray Construction was the only Kentucky-based firm to help build Toyota’s Georgetown plant, which opened in 1988.

Toyota had been lobbied by Gov. Martha Layne Collins, who died on Nov. 1, to come to Kentucky.

Under Howard Gray’s leadership, Gray Construction won numerous awards, including the Associated Builders and Contractors National Award of Merit for Excellence in Construction and the National Design-Build Award of Merit.

Gray was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 41 years ago, and he battled the disease with the help of his wife, Cassandra, who he married in 1977. He retired as CEO in 1999, but remained as board chairman for several more years.

Gray was a member of numerous boards including Chairman of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, President of the Lexington Theological Seminary and Associated General Contractors of Kentucky.

He is survived by his wife, Cassandra, four children, three grandchildren and five siblings. A Celebration of Life, followed by a reception, will be held Nov. 14 at 1:30 pm EST at Christ Church Cathedral, 166 Market St., Lexington, KY 40507.

A visitation in Glasgow will be held Nov. 15th from 12-2pm CST at the First Christian Church, 1100 North Race St., Glasgow, KY 42141 with a family burial.

Memorials can be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society via Howard’s Team (1877 Red Hawk Trail, Park City, Utah, 85098), and The International Storytelling Center (116 West Main St., Jonesborough, Tenn., 37659.)

This story was originally published November 7, 2025 at 11:09 AM.