Longtime Oswegoland Park District director remembered: ‘His influence is everywhere’

Robert “Bert” Gray, 69, who led the Oswegoland Park District for more than two decades as the Oswego area community experienced an unprecedented population and development boom, has died.

Gray died Dec. 22, after a long battle with cancer.

Gray began his career with the park district in 1976 when he was named assistant director. He was appointed executive director four years later upon the retirement of Ford Lippold, the agency’s first director.

Gray served as executive director until 2003 when he left the agency to accept the position of executive director of the Decatur-based Champaign County Forest Preserve District.

A 1971 graduate of Oswego High School, Gray earned a bachelor’s degree in recreation and park administration at University of Illinois in 1976 and a master’s degree in business management at Aurora University in 1984.

Under Gray’s leadership, the park district’s facilities, programs and staff steadily grew as the population the agency serves almost tripled from an estimated 12,000 in 1980 to about 35,000 in 2003. The agency’s service area encompasses Oswego Township and includes all of the village of Oswego, the Oswego Township section of the village of Montgomery and the unincorporated Boulder Hill and Shore Heights subdivisions.

In a social media post, former Oswego Village President Gail Johnson described Gray’s influence on the community as indelible.

“Robert Gray’s influence is everywhere: pedestrian/bike paths, zoning, community planning and park district culture. One cannot appreciate the beauty that is Oswego now without knowing Bert had a huge part in its existence,” Johnson said.

During his tenure at the park district, the agency planned, built and opened numerous neighborhood parks as new residential subdivisions were developed throughout the park district.

Under Gray’s direction, the park district built its first trail in the late 1980s in Montgomery’s Seasons Ridge subdivision and he continued to advocate for the development of a network of trails throughout the community as more new subdivisions were proposed.

In addition, Gray took a leading role in the agency’s efforts to acquire land for public use along the Fox River and Waubonsie Creek. The effort led to the development of Hudson Crossing Park in downtown Oswego, the extension of the Fox River Trail from Montgomery south into Oswego and the Waubonsie Creek Trail.

In the late 1980s, the park district acquired a former John Deere dealership building and then, a few years later, 50 acres of adjoining land to the south between Grove and Plainfield roads. Today, the former dealership building serves as Prairie Point Center while the adjoining acreage is Prairie Point Community Park.

in 1990-91 Gray successfully championed the preservation of the old Route 34 bridge (Washington Street) in downtown Oswego. The Illinois Department of Transportation initially proposed to demolish the historic two-lane bridge when construction was completed on a new four-lane bridge. Gray, with the support of other local, state and federal lawmakers, managed to persuade IDOT officials to preserve the old bridge for continued use by pedestrians and cyclists.

Also during his tenure, the park district assumed responsibility of organizing the former Osewgo Days community celebration after it was canceled. In the ensuing years the festival, renamed PrairieFest, has grown into Kendall County’s largest community celebration.

Gray also was active in the development of the village of Oswego’s 1986 comprehensive plan and the acquisition and preservation of more than 100 acres of prairie wetlands throughout the park district.

Roger Matile, director of the Little White School Museum in Oswego, described Gray as “absolutely crucial” to the Oswegoland Heritage Association’s successful efforts to preserve the historic former 19th century-era church at Jackson and Polk streets that today houses the museum.

“The [restoration] project had reached a sort of plateau by the late 1980s and he [Gray] pledged that the Oswegoland Heritage Association would have the full support of the park district to get it moving again,” Matile said. “That led to funding for insulating the building, repairing the plaster in the main room and installing a new energy efficient furnace. The projects were all overseen by Oswegoland Heritage Association volunteers.”

At the time of his departure from the park district, Deb Krase, then the park district board president, described Gray’s leaving the agency as a “sad day for the community.”

“Bert [Gray] has done a wonderful job creating a park district that is a benefit to everyone in the community,” Krase said.

Krase singled out the continued development of the agency’s bike trail system among the park district’s chief accomplishments under Gray’s leadership. Krase described the still-developing network of trails as “among the best systems” in the state.