Howard Bray, a writer, educator and public affairs activist, and longtime resident of Washington, D.C., died on Saturday, June 28, 2025. He was 96 and suffered from heart disease.

Bray, a native of Albany, N.Y., and graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, began his career in newspaper newsrooms, with posts in Cape Girardeau, Mo., St. Louis and then Louisville, Ky., where he met his wife of 49 years, Ann, a Kentuckian.

Awarded a Congressional Fellowship, Bray, who served in the Army during the Korean War, moved to Washington, D.C., in 1961. He was press secretary for U.S. Sen. Clinton P. Anderson of New Mexico, working on Medicare and Civil Rights legislation. He became deputy director of the Appalachian Regional Commission, a federal-state agency focused on health and transportation infrastructure.

He returned to journalism as executive director and president of the Fund for Investigative Journalism, providing support for independent writers. To benefit the Fund, Bray organized the premier of the film All The President’s Men.

Bray’s writing appeared in a variety of publications, including The Progressive, Across the Board and The New York Times Magazine. He authored The Pillars of the Post: The Making of a News Empire in Washington, published in 1980 by W.W. Norton.

In 1987, he was named founding director of the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism at the University of Maryland at College Park. During his tenure, more than 1,200 journalists attended diverse science, technology, society and culture courses designed to better prepare reporters and editors to inform the public. Bray retired at age 70.

Bray was dedicated to involvement in community. He joined efforts that stopped plans for the three-sisters bridge across the Potomac River; opposed the taking of federal parkland for a proposed D.C. Mayor’s mansion; and led a campaign that resulted in a traffic light at a dangerous Canal Road intersection.

Starting in 2014, Bray published five books of poetry, with three covers adorned by his wife’s paintings.

Survivors include two children, a step-child, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on Oct. 12, 2025, Sunday, 2 p.m., in the sanctuary of The Hub in the Palisades, 5200 Cathedral Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.