“Big in every way” Rigby reserve police officer remembered during touching memorial service

RIGBY — William “Bill” Gray was a big man in every way. He was big in person, big in heart, big in personality, big in compassion and caring, big in loyalty and big in ethics.

The 43-year-old Rigby reserve police officer, who died Sept. 25, was remembered during a public memorial service Friday morning at Rigby High School.

Nearly 200 people stood in silence as Gray’s coffin was wheeled into the school auditorium. A group played bagpipes and Gray’s sister, along with Rigby police chief Sam Tower, spoke during the service.

“Bill was one of the happiest people I knew,” Tower said. “He could make you laugh in any type of situation. Bill was the true example of selfless service. We can be like Bill. We miss Bill. We love Bill.”

Gray was seriously burned in July following a head-on crash caused by a man in a pickup truck who was fleeing police on U.S. Highway 89 in Utah. He spent two months in the University of Utah burn center before he passed away.

After the service, Tower said the police department is having a hard time coping with Gray’s loss but his death is a reminder to everyone that life is short.

“It doesn’t matter how much time we have. It matters what we do with it. Bill choose to do good things. He was taken from us by somebody who was making bad decisions. But Bill was probably the first one to find him and forgive him because that was Bill.”