Mr Mike Wray.
STAUNCH fundraiser Mike Wray has died, aged 75, after a long illness.
Mr Wray, of Queens Road, Ryde, was also a committed Rotarian, longstanding member of the congregation at Ryde’s All Saints’ Church and known by many as owner of the Garden Tavern at Ventnor Botanic Garden.
Born in Reading, Mr Wray moved to St Lawrence after marrying his wife, Joyce. There he was the area sales representative for Proctor and Gamble.
They later moved to the mainland and raised three sons, before returning to the Island in 1978.
Mr Wray then took on the Garden Tavern, which was also the home of Ventnor Rotarians for many years.
He was a dedicated supporter of the RNLI, organising numerous fund-raising efforts, and after the loss of his eldest son, Simon, to leukaemia, in 1990, he raised thousands for Leukaemia Research.
He did a lot of work for the Earl Mountbatten Hosp-ice, marshalling Walk the Wight and, even in recent years, urging walkers on at the checkpoints.
He leaves his wife, sons, Matthew and John, and three grandchildren, Amelie, Thomas and Ella.
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