Barbara Gray

Barbara E. Gray (née Gantz; October 11, 1926 – March 28, 2014) was an American Democratic politician from Framingham, Massachusetts. She represented the 39th Middlesex district from 1973 to 1974, the 56th Middlesex district from 1975 to 1978, and the 6th Middlesex district from 1979 to 1996 in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. She was first elected as a Republican, but switched parties in October 1990. Early life Gray was born in New York City on October 11, 1926. Her father, Gerald Gantz, was a Republican stockbroker and her mother, Marcella Gantz (née Beck) was described as a "closet Democrat". She was rebellious in high school until her parents enrolled her in a more rigorous private school. After graduation, she attended Connecticut College where she met Richard Gray. She received her B.A. in 1948 and, after turning down Richard's first marriage proposal, travelled around Europe with a friend, where she attended the Institute of International Education at the University of Oxford. After she returned to Massachusetts, she agreed to marry Richard and they moved to Framingham. She later graduated from Western New England College with a Masters of Public Administration. Gray worked in public relations for the American Association for the United Nations, as a columnist and editor for a newspaper in Hartford, Connecticut, and in advertising for Esquire.