September-October 2011

Jeff Bray passes away

Texas lost a beloved former prosecutor on August 20 with the passing of Kenneth Jefferson “Jeff” Bray.

    Jeff was a proud Texas Aggie who attended law school at Oklahoma City University. He joined the Gregg County Criminal District Attorney’s Office in December 1995 and prosecuted juvenile cases there until joining the Dallas County Criminal District Attorney’s Office in June 1997 in the Appellate Division and then the Specialized Crime Division. He represented the State in nearly 300 cases on appeal and is listed as counsel of record in 13 published opinions.

    Jeff joined the Collin County Criminal District Attorney’s Office in 2003, where he was a member of the Specialized Crime and Felony Trial Divisions. In 2006, Jeff left prosecution, but he did so to work with police officers as the Senior Legal Advisor for the Plano Police Department. Jeff advised the chief of police, trained cadets at the police academy, provided in-service training, and assisted officers with legal issues related to their investigations.

    In 1997, at TDCAA’s Prosecutor Trial Skills Course, a classmate caught his eye. Jennifer McComic was also a proud Aggie, and they married that September. In 2006, Jeff and Jennifer were blessed by the birth of their daughter, Charlotte Belle Bray.

    Jeff was inquisitive and enjoyed problem-solving and mechanics. An avid gardener, he built his own greenhouse and raised orchids and other exotic plants. Jeff seldom missed an opportunity to see the Aggies play football, but he counted ardent Longhorns, Sooners, and Red Raiders among his friends.

    Jeff never turned away a request for help. If something needed to be done, he would figure out a way. Despite being sick for several years, Jeff worked hard and did not complain to his friends and colleagues about the special burdens life dealt him. He will be greatly missed by his family and all the police officers, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and others whose lives he touched.   —John Rolater, ­Assistant Criminal District Attorney in Collin County