“I was impressed to see that he took pictures of all 90 or so students, and learned to recognize them all by name within the first few weeks of the term,” Judith Hough-Goldstein, chairperson of the entomology and applied ecology department, said of Dr. Bray at the General Faculty meeting April 8. She said his “commanding and theatrical style” also contributed to his longstanding undergraduate popularity.

Dr. Bray was hired in 1949 by the University as a research fellow and was subsequently promoted to instructor and assistant professor. He left UD to serve as an entomologist with the F.A. Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories from 1955-58, returning to become chairperson of the entomology department 1958. He promptly added a position in wildlife ecology, focusing the department on undergraduate teaching and environmental issues. He developed and taught a course called “Elements of Entomology” for many years, which was especially popular and brought many new majors to the program.

With Dr. Bray’s help and inspiration, Hough-Goldstein said, the Delaware Pest Control Association was founded. He stayed involved in its operation until his retirement in 1983.

Hough-Goldstein recalled Dr. Bray’s fascination with small moths known as microlepidoptera, noting that he “continued to collect and prepare (beautifully) the tiniest imaginable moths, long after his retirement.” The insect collection that spanned his lifetime currently is housed in the Smithsonian Institute.

“The many students who took Dale’s courses over the years and the many entomologists in Delaware and elsewhere who knew Dale will miss his personal warmth and caring for others,” she concluded.

Dr. Bray died Oct. 26, 2001.