Lawton Native awarded as a St. Louis Regional Teacher of the Year

Perhaps no one embodies Southwest Oklahoma as much as Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Darrel Gray.

Gray, a retired Army Air Defense Artillery officer, now teaches JROTC in the St. Louis, Missouri area. Gray was one of ten teachers in the St. Louis area to be awarded regional teacher of the year for his school district, Ferguson-Florissant.

Gray was raised in the Lawton area after his father retired from the Army. An Eisenhower alum, Gray also attended Basic Combat Training (BCT) and Advanced Artillery Training in Lawton before joining the Army Reserves and ROTC at Cameron University.

“I would not be where I am today if I had not had the opportunity to be exposed to the teaching of the JROTC program as a student,” he said in another interview.

Gray has almost always found himself leading and teaching.

“Didn’t realize I was doing it really. Teaching and training is what I was always doing. “

An honor graduate of BCT, Gray helped to lead fellow soldiers with his experience in JROTC.

Although offered a position in Drill Sergeant training, Gray said he declined to focus on his studies and to commission as an officer.

Gray retired from the military after serving for 24 years in 2014. Afterwards, he and his wife moved to the St. Louis area to be nearer both sides of their family.

In his teaching tenure, Gray’s students and others in the area have gone on to be awarded over $1m in scholarships.

Gray’s life path was formed, he said, in large part due to his smaller stature as a child. When he and his twin brother went to high school, they were at a loss for an after-school activity as their mother wouldn’t allow them to play football.

“We were small guys, maybe 5’5” and 100 lbs.,” he said.

After the boys told their father of their predicament, Mr. Gray went to Eisenhower himself to find options for his children.

Sgt. First Class Beyers, a former JROTC teacher at Eisenhower High School, convinced Gray’s father to allow the twins to join.

“They must have done some secret Sgt. First Class handshake,” Gray joked. His father retired as a Sgt. First Class from the Army.

Originally in high school, Gray thought that he wanted to be a truck driver. Later, that shifted to law enforcement, which solidified with his Criminal Justice degree from Cameron.

Throughout his career, Gray said he found himself teaching. Now, he finds himself in a classroom, inspiring his students to always strive for their best.

“It just comes full circle … I may have missed my calling a few times, but I was meant to teach,” said Gray.