Graybeal

PENDLETON – Gerald “Jay” Graybeal, 91, of Pendleton died Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008. A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24 at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Pendleton.

Mr. Graybeal was born Jan. 22, 1917, in Pendleton to Doris and Finley Graybeal. He graduated from Pendleton High School in 1936 as an outstanding athlete, lettering four years in football, basketball and track. He was inducted into the Pendleton High School Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

After high school he attended the University of Oregon on a football scholarship. He was dubbed the “Pendleton Jackrabbit” for his speed and moves, and he was an extremely versatile player on offense, defense and special teams. He was ninth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1939, and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in 1940. He was inducted into the University of Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.

After college in 1942, he married his high school sweetheart, Betty Jane Holt. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in World War II, serving in the South Pacific during the occupation of Japan in 1945.

After the war the Graybeals returned to Pendleton, where he worked in retail until he was recruited by the Olympia Brewing Company to start his own wholesale beer distributorship. In 1955 he founded Graybeal Distributing, which remains a family-owned and family-managed business 53 years later.

He served in many civic capacities including president of the Oregon Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association, Happy Canyon director, and president of the Pendleton Boosters Club. He was active in the Elks Club, the VFW and the Pendleton Country Club. He announced the Pendleton Buckaroo home football games for 32 years.

He loved the outdoors and enjoyed fishing and hunting trips to Canada and Alaska, fishing at Farewell Bend and spending time at his cabin in the Blue Mountains on Langdon Lake. He also golfed several days a week until the age of 88. He encouraged and supported each of his grandchildren in their chosen athletic pursuits. He and his wife frequently traveled to Hawaii and Palm Desert, took multiple RV road trips, and treated their family with trips to Barbados, Jamaica and Mexico.

Mr. Graybeal is survived by his children Gary Graybeal, Mark Graybeal and Maryl Featherstone, all of Pendleton, and Nancy Graybeal of Corbett; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

His wife of 60 years, Betty Holt Graybeal, preceded him in death in 2003.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, or to the Jay Graybeal Athletic Scholarship fund at Pendleton High School.