Bill Text: MS SC514 | 2017 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Mourn the passing of Civil Rights Advocate and retired Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi Duncan Gray, Jr.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-01-31 - Enrolled Bill Signed [SC514 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2017-SC514-Enrolled.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2017 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Blount, Tollison, Barnett, Dearing, Frazier, Jackson (11th), Jackson (32nd), Norwood, Simmons (12th)
Senate Concurrent Resolution 514
(As Adopted by Senate and House)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION MOURNING THE PASSING OF CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCATE AND RETIRED BISHOP OF THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF MISSISSIPPI RIGHT REVEREND DUNCAN MONTGOMERY GRAY, JR., AND EXTENDING THE SYMPATHY OF THE LEGISLATURE.
WHEREAS, it is with extreme sadness that we note the passing of the Right Reverend Duncan Montgomery Gray, Jr., a Civil Rights advocate and retired Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi on July 15, 2016, at age 89. Bishop Gray was a prophetic voice for racial justice and reconciliation; and
WHEREAS, as Rector of St. Peter's Church in Oxford in the Autumn of 1962, Gray called for calm as violence broke out in response to the court-ordered integration of the University of Mississippi in that city. Gray had been a Chaplin on campus until 1961 and was known to students; and
WHEREAS, a fourth generation Mississippian, he was born in Canton on September 21, 1926, the son of the Reverend Duncan M. Gray, Sr., and Isabel McCrady Gray. He spent part of his childhood in Columbus, attended junior high and high school in Greenwood, and graduated from Jackson Central High School in 1944 after his father was elected the fifth Episcopal Bishop of Mississippi and his family moved to Jackson the year before. He played football in high school and developed a love of all sports as well as a lifelong affinity for the St. Louis Cardinals; and
WHEREAS, he graduated from Tulane University with a degree in Electrical Engineering and spent three years with the Westinghouse Corporation before entering seminary at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, in 1950. He was ordained a Deacon and Priest by his father in 1953, and served as Vicar of Calvary Church, Cleveland, and Grace Church, Rosedale, until 1957, when he became Rector of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Oxford. It was in that calling that he provided prophetic leadership and Christian witness in the events surrounding the admission of James Meredith, the first African-American student admitted to the University of Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, he accepted a call as Rector of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Meridian in 1965, where he served until his election as Bishop in 1974. While in Meridian he was instrumental in the formation of the Committee of Conscience, which helped rebuild African-American churches firebombed by the Ku Klux Klan, as well as serving in numerous other civic leadership roles; and
WHEREAS, he served as Bishop for 19 years, retiring in 1993. His tenure was marked by significant changes in the church, including the ordination of women to the priesthood, which he fully supported; and
WHEREAS, from 1991 to 1997 he served as Chancellor of the University of the South in Sewanee and later as interim Chaplain and interim Dean of the School of Theology; and
WHEREAS, he was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth Miller Spivey Gray, who died in 2011. Survivors include four children: the Right Reverend Duncan M. Gray III (Kathy), Anne Finley (Mack), Lloyd Gray (Sally), and Catherine Clark (Shelton); 11 grandchildren: Tillman Finley (Jaclyn), Ruth Knight, Duncan Gray IV (Amber), Reverend Peter Gray (Giulianna), Tabitha Agany Ajak (John), Lloyd Gray, Jr., (Catherine), Mary Gray, Isabel Gary, Shelton Clark, Jr., Duncan Clark and Elliott Clark; 10 great-grandchildren; sisters: Ormond Caldwell and Isabel Mills (Tommy); brother-in-law, Lloyd G. Spivey, Jr., (Ebbie); and a host of nieces, nephews and cousins; and
WHEREAS, he did what he believed to be just and God's will. His legacy is set, and we mourn the loss of a great Reverend but celebrate the life of a man who lived by his convictions:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby mourn the passing of Civil Rights Advocate and retired Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi Right Reverend Duncan Montgomery Gray, Jr., and extend the sympathy of the Legislature.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Bishop Gray, forwarded to the Mississippi Diocese of the Episcopal Church, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.
