Dr. Searles T. Bray Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Dr. Searles "Tom" Bray DDS. USNR October 17, 1920 -December 14, 2014 Dr. Searles T. Bray DDS. known as "Tom" passed away peacefully on December 14, 2014 in Loma Linda, California. He was born in Pawtucket, R.I. to Raymond Gilmore Bray and Marion Dean Perkins on October 17, 1920. He spent his youth growing up in Pawtucket with his older brother Gil, and younger brother and sister Andrew and Naomi. He spent most of his summers in Connecticut helping on his relative's farm from the 5th grade through his first two years in college. He graduated Rhode Island College in 1942 with a teacher's credential, attended Brown University in 1947 and graduated Tufts University Dental School in Boston in 1951. He was part of the "Greatest Generation" in WWII. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1942 immediately following his graduation from Rhode Island College. He became a navy pilot. He took his initial flight training in Squantum, Massachusetts just south of Boston and finished his flight training in Pensacola, Florida. He learned to fly many planes including the bi-plane called the "Yellow Peril", SNV, SNJ, OS2U,SO3C,TBF and SBD. His favorite plane to fly by far was the SBD. He was stationed in Alameda, California across the bay from San Francisco for nine months and flew just about every day over the Golden Gate Bridge out to the Farallon Islands on anti submarine patrol. He also spent a year and a half in the Pacific in New Caledonia escorting ships out to sea also on anti submarine patrol. When the war ended in August 1945 until his discharge in January 1946 he became a flight instructor in Pensacola , Florida. His very last assignment was to fly planes from Florida to Clinton, OK where thousands of planes were being scrapped. He applied to Tufts University Dental School in 1946 but because he was missing some credits needed he went to Brown University in Providence R.I. for a year and a half to obtain those credits and then entered Tufts University Dental School in 1947. He met his wife, Geraldine (Gigi) McSorley of Canton, MA during the summer of 1948 in Montauk, NY at a summer resort where he got a summer job as a busboy. Geraldine was a waitress. She was the love of his life. The summers of 1948 and 1949 were some of his best times in his life. They married on August 5, 1950 in Canton, MA just before his senior year in dental school. They lived in an apartment on Beacon Hill in Boston. Geraldine got a job as a receptionist at a local company. Tom graduated in 1951 and became an associate dentist in Pawtucket with his childhood family dentist, Dr. Panaretus. It wasn't long before he opened his own dental practice in Pawtucket. He was a one man operation his entire 32 year dental career. He took and scheduled all the appointments, did just about all the lab work himself and attended to his many patients. He was a one man band. His first child a son, Robert was born on February 2,1952 and his daughter, Jane was born on January 23, 1955. His family was now complete. In 1976 he retired as a Commander in the Naval Reserves which he joined right after the war. Bob and Jane remember waving goodbye to him every Tuesday night while they were growing up when he went to his naval reserve meetings. He was a man of many interests. He enjoyed music and during his life he learned to play a variety of instruments. He always said he was just a "hacker" not really an accomplished musician but to his family and others he was very talented. He played the violin in the school orchestra. Over the years he learned to play the guitar, mandolin, autoharp, keyboards, electric sax, recorder and harmonica. His grandchildren Emily and Matt surely must have inherited some of his musical ability both being very talented musicians themselves. Emily a beautiful singer and Matt a guitar player and keyboardist. He was a voracious reader his entire life. He always had a book with him. He read mostly nonfiction but in his very latest years he started to enjoy some fiction because he said he had already read "every" nonfiction book he was interested in. He was also very interested in current events and politics. After he retired he became a very avid golfer sometimes golfing as many as 27 holes in a day. He even had a hole in one well into his 80's. He took excellent care of himself his whole life and walked just about everywhere. He was even counting his calories within the last month! Jane and Bob remember all the family fun they had with their mom and dad. Although they rarely took a traditional family vacation (two trips to California to visit relatives and trips to Cape Cod) they did something together just about every week. During the summers they almost always went to the beach in Newport, R.I. and then to the "rocks" along the "ten mile drive" to go fishing. On the way home they would often stop at their favorite restaurant, "Tweet Balzanos" in Bristol, Rhode Island for steamed clams and spaghetti. In the winter time he took them all ice skating at Slater Park and snow sledding at the Pawtucket Country Club which had the perfect hills for sledding. Some of Bob's favorite memories of spending time with his dad was going to the circus when he was about seven years old (sorry Jane you were too young to go and we snuck out on you after you went to bed!) going fishing and going to pick up his very first car and falling asleep on his lap on the way back home. Some of Jane's fondest memories were riding on the back of his Honda motorcycle to summer camp, going to thrift shops looking for great bargains, listening to him reminisce about the old days and enjoying his sense of humor. In October 1979 his wife Geraldine suddenly passed away at age 54. It was a difficult time for all. She was a remarkable woman and was a terrible loss not only to us but the entire neighborhood. All the neighbors especially all the kids truly loved her. She could really relate to all the kids in the neighborhood and was like a second mother to them. Several years past and Tom's good friend Dr. Lappin suggested that he ask his nurse Marjorie Dickson out for a date. The family had all known Marge as she had been Dr. Lappin's nurse their whole life. Before too long they were a couple, fell in love and were married on October 11, 1982. It was a wonderful time for all. Marge took up golf and they were always on the course. They even joined a country club and also joined a golf league. Tom and Marge would come out to California to visit Bob and Jane and once spent an entire winter renting an apartment near Jane in Redlands to enjoy a reprieve from the New England winter snow. Marge really wasn't much of a traveler so Tom would often just come out to visit by himself. Several years passed and Marge passed away. Tom came to live in Redland, CA in January 2005 to be close to his family. He was 85 years old at the time. He had an apartment near Jane and resumed all his activities. He loved his golf and was able to golf well into his late eighties. He bought a bicycle and started playing bridge at the senior center. It was a very nice situation, he was still independent but just a block from Jane and John and his granddaughter Emily. Jane and John looked after him and were his primary care givers, not that he needed much looking after except during several surgeries when he lived with them during his recovery( thank you Jane and John). I can't say he was the best patient to take care of but they all got through it! Tom lived to age 94 and always said he would be happy to make 60. He sure got fooled. He lived independently his entire life up until the last 3 weeks, had a great life which we are all very grateful for. We should all be so lucky. Perhaps the most surprising thing that Jane & Bob will always remember is his love of his dog "Sweetie" Growing up Bob and Jane wouldn't ever think of asking for a dog. It wasn't even in the realm of possibilities. Tom was not a dog person not that he didn't like dogs but the care, daily commitment, expense ,clean up etc wasn't his thing. It was absolutely out of the question. John and Jane bought a dog(Buster) for their daughter Emily and Tom perhaps reluctantly in the beginning would look after and check on Buster when John and Jane were at work and Emily was in school. Well to our utter amazement Tom became very attached to Buster and Buster to him. It was jaw dropping to Bob and Jane. Buster passed away and my dad was devastated. He soon got his own dog, "Sweetie" who has truly been a lifesaver and companion for my dad. They have had so much fun together. Sweetie has been a great companion to him. Literally not a day would pass without a "Sweetie" story. How often we heard him say, "That dog is the smartest dog, I swear he knows me like a book." All we can say is, "Thank God for Sweetie." Tom is survived by his daughter Jane Cairns, her husband John, his granddaughter Emily, his son Robert and his wife Mary and his two grandsons Mathew and Justin. He will be greatly missed by his many nieces and friends. A memorial service will be held at 10am. on December 23, 2014 at Michael Shaw Mortuary 1525 N. Waterman Ave. San Bernardino, CA. In lieu of flowers the family suggests contributions to The Redlands Dog Park P.O. Box 1440 Redlands, CA 92373 in memory of Searles "Tom" Bray. The family wishes to specially thank VNA Hospice of Southern California and especially Nellie Reeder, owner and caregiver of Rest Haven Care Home in Loma Linda for her extraordinary care and concern of our dad during his stay there. She made it so much easier for us during those difficult days. Thank you Nellie.

Dr. Searles T. Bray

October 17, 2014 - December 14, 2014