Theodis R. “Ted” Gay · 1992 Honoree

By sheer volume and significance, Ted Gay’s achievements might distract one from his most remarkable dimension. But sit and talk gently with him for a few minutes, on a topic of your choosing, and his compelling humanitarianism begins to emerge. Ted prides himself, not for what most recognize as a fountain of intellect, but as a “haven” of understanding.

Ted Gay was born in Detroit, Michigan, one of six children in a very closely-knit Catholic family. His father was an attorney and law school dean and his mother, a full-time housewife and “tremendous pianist”. Ted credits his parents for teaching him he was a “thinking individual” capable of making choices for himself and also for teaching him to “listen” not to words but to “what people were saying.”

He remembers performing the classics at home while each family member took a part in the play; at the age of six he was reciting poetry to the accompaniment of his sister on piano. Being the top student in the school “wasn’t easy” but it was a way of life for young Mr. Gay. He has been a superb athlete throughout his life and remembers the pain of having to interrupt sports activities to take piano lessons.

On an academic scholarship at Michigan State, Ted Gay found time to excel statewide in both gymnastics and bridge.

Employment as an analyst for the Federal Government brought him to Washington in1966. In 1968 he opened the Gallery De Gaines on East Capitol Street. “I had many friends in the arts community and they needed a place to show their art.” His gallery became and a place where people could come and talk, and play bridge, and play chess— a “safe haven”. He speaks warmly about Capitol Hill and “community” and “friends”. When he became involved in local politics, it was only to “address the needs of his friends.”

Proprietor of Capitol Hill Art and Frame since 1968, Ted Gay is also president of Ted Gay & Associates political consultants, which includes many of the top pols in D.C. among its clients. He is president of the Washington-Moscow Exchange, an effort which has brought Russian ethnic paintings to the U.S. market. Staggering professional credits include: Chairman, D.C. Democratic State Committee; V.P., Association of State Democratic Chairs; Site Selection Committee, Democratic National Convention (1983); Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Committee on Arts and Economic Development (1986); Mayor’s Representative to Beijing, China (1986); Chairman, Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation; Vice Chairman, D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Mr. Gay has been a principal in the city council elections of John Ray, Betty Ann Kane, Harold Brazil, and Jack Evans.

He has served our community on the boards of Capitol Hill Day School, Capitol East Childrens Center, St. Mark’s Dance and Market V Gallery. He also ran Market Day during the late sixties for Friendship house.

Theodis “Ted” Gary has spent an entire lifetime with a view from the highest levels of achievement, but he insists that “life works only when you measure things on a human scale.” Ask anyone, from the Mayor of Washington to the man on the street, and they will agree, there are few who measure-up to Ted Gay by any standards.