Professor John Fray (Emeritus), 64, formerly of UMASS Medical School Department of Physiology died suddenly on Friday, August 3, in Jamaica.

He is survived by wife Dr. Jean King Fray; children, Joni, Jomo and Jasai; grandson Elan; mother Enid; sisters, Greta, Dorel, Lovena and Grace; brothers, Gousley, Anthony, Alton, Ewen, Philip, Dane (Carol); also several nieces and nephews.

Born in Jamaica, Dr. Fray moved to New York City, where he graduated with honors (Cum Laude) from Howard University in 1970 as a Porter Development Fellow of the American Physiological Society. He later entered the MIT-Harvard Medical School Health Scientist Training Program and earned his PhD in Physiology from Harvard in 1975. He joined the department of Physiology at UMASS Medical School as an Assistant Professor in 1978 after being recruited from the University of California at San Francisco and in 1980 was honored with the UMMS Teacher of the Year Award.

On his retirement in 2003 from UMASS Medical School, Professor Fray continued his contribution by promoting education and creating opportunities for minority students in the sciences. In 1994, Professor Fray founded the Thoth Program for Science Education Training in Jamaica, with the central goal of making science a specific output of the country's public school system. Through these activities he later became a key advisor to the Jamaican Government, specifically the Ministry of Commerce, Science and Technology where he served as liaison and policy advisor, responsible for the development and promotion of science education and biotechnology in the country.

He served on numerous boards in Worcester, including the Board of the Hyatt Center at Clark University, Board of Trustees at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Board of Directors of the Worcester Art Museum, and the Goddard School of Science and Technology.

The funeral service will be held at 10 a.m Friday August 17th at the University Chapel, Kingston 7, Jamaica.