Hazel Yates Gray; Educator, civil rights supporter, and mother of the first African American Majority Whip of the United States House Representatives, Hazel Yates Gray, passed away on Friday, July 17, 2015 in Coral Gables, Florida. She was 99 years old.
Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Mrs. Gray was the daughter of two educators, Bertha and Albert Yates. Continuing the family legacy of education, she graduated from Southern University in Baton Rouge.
At Southern, she met her husband, a prominent educator, Dr. William H. Gray, Jr. From 1941 to 1949, Mrs. Gray served as first lady of Florida Normal and Industrial College (Florida Memorial College) in St. Augustine and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee, where her husband was president respectively. In 1950, Mrs. Gray moved with her husband and children to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she taught home economics at William Penn High School for over 35 years and her husband was pastor of the nationally renowned Bright Hope Baptist Church. As first lady of Bright Hope, she and her husband hosted and provided housing for the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other leaders during the Civil Rights Movement.
A life long educator, Mrs. Gray earned a Master of Arts degree from Temple University in education. She was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
She had two children who pre-deceased her, Dr. Marian Gray Secundy, a bioethics professor at Howard University and Reverend William H. Gray, III, former pastor of Bright Hope Baptist Church for 35 years and congressman of the Second Congressional District and majority whip of the United States House of Representatives.
Mrs. Gray was a generous, intelligent woman and will be missed by all who were fortunate enough to know her. She is survived by her loving daughter-in-law, Andrea, who cared for her until passing; grandchildren, Susan Secundy, Joel Secundy, William H. Gray, IV, Justin Gray, and Andrew Gray; and seven great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. The family of Mrs. Hazel Yates Gray will hold a private memorial to celebrate her life and legacy.
~ Published in the Miami Herald from July 22 to July 23, 2015
Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Mrs. Gray was the daughter of two educators, Bertha and Albert Yates. Continuing the family legacy of education, she graduated from Southern University in Baton Rouge.
At Southern, she met her husband, a prominent educator, Dr. William H. Gray, Jr. From 1941 to 1949, Mrs. Gray served as first lady of Florida Normal and Industrial College (Florida Memorial College) in St. Augustine and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee, where her husband was president respectively. In 1950, Mrs. Gray moved with her husband and children to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she taught home economics at William Penn High School for over 35 years and her husband was pastor of the nationally renowned Bright Hope Baptist Church. As first lady of Bright Hope, she and her husband hosted and provided housing for the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other leaders during the Civil Rights Movement.
A life long educator, Mrs. Gray earned a Master of Arts degree from Temple University in education. She was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
She had two children who pre-deceased her, Dr. Marian Gray Secundy, a bioethics professor at Howard University and Reverend William H. Gray, III, former pastor of Bright Hope Baptist Church for 35 years and congressman of the Second Congressional District and majority whip of the United States House of Representatives.
Mrs. Gray was a generous, intelligent woman and will be missed by all who were fortunate enough to know her. She is survived by her loving daughter-in-law, Andrea, who cared for her until passing; grandchildren, Susan Secundy, Joel Secundy, William H. Gray, IV, Justin Gray, and Andrew Gray; and seven great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. The family of Mrs. Hazel Yates Gray will hold a private memorial to celebrate her life and legacy.
~ Published in the Miami Herald from July 22 to July 23, 2015
Hazel Yates Gray; Educator, civil rights supporter, and mother of the first African American Majority Whip of the United States House Representatives, Hazel Yates Gray, passed away on Friday, July 17, 2015 in Coral Gables, Florida. She was 99 years old.
Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Mrs. Gray was the daughter of two educators, Bertha and Albert Yates. Continuing the family legacy of education, she graduated from Southern University in Baton Rouge.
At Southern, she met her husband, a prominent educator, Dr. William H. Gray, Jr. From 1941 to 1949, Mrs. Gray served as first lady of Florida Normal and Industrial College (Florida Memorial College) in St. Augustine and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee, where her husband was president respectively. In 1950, Mrs. Gray moved with her husband and children to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she taught home economics at William Penn High School for over 35 years and her husband was pastor of the nationally renowned Bright Hope Baptist Church. As first lady of Bright Hope, she and her husband hosted and provided housing for the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other leaders during the Civil Rights Movement.
A life long educator, Mrs. Gray earned a Master of Arts degree from Temple University in education. She was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
She had two children who pre-deceased her, Dr. Marian Gray Secundy, a bioethics professor at Howard University and Reverend William H. Gray, III, former pastor of Bright Hope Baptist Church for 35 years and congressman of the Second Congressional District and majority whip of the United States House of Representatives.
Mrs. Gray was a generous, intelligent woman and will be missed by all who were fortunate enough to know her. She is survived by her loving daughter-in-law, Andrea, who cared for her until passing; grandchildren, Susan Secundy, Joel Secundy, William H. Gray, IV, Justin Gray, and Andrew Gray; and seven great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. The family of Mrs. Hazel Yates Gray will hold a private memorial to celebrate her life and legacy.
~ Published in the Miami Herald from July 22 to July 23, 2015
Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Mrs. Gray was the daughter of two educators, Bertha and Albert Yates. Continuing the family legacy of education, she graduated from Southern University in Baton Rouge.
At Southern, she met her husband, a prominent educator, Dr. William H. Gray, Jr. From 1941 to 1949, Mrs. Gray served as first lady of Florida Normal and Industrial College (Florida Memorial College) in St. Augustine and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee, where her husband was president respectively. In 1950, Mrs. Gray moved with her husband and children to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she taught home economics at William Penn High School for over 35 years and her husband was pastor of the nationally renowned Bright Hope Baptist Church. As first lady of Bright Hope, she and her husband hosted and provided housing for the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other leaders during the Civil Rights Movement.
A life long educator, Mrs. Gray earned a Master of Arts degree from Temple University in education. She was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
She had two children who pre-deceased her, Dr. Marian Gray Secundy, a bioethics professor at Howard University and Reverend William H. Gray, III, former pastor of Bright Hope Baptist Church for 35 years and congressman of the Second Congressional District and majority whip of the United States House of Representatives.
Mrs. Gray was a generous, intelligent woman and will be missed by all who were fortunate enough to know her. She is survived by her loving daughter-in-law, Andrea, who cared for her until passing; grandchildren, Susan Secundy, Joel Secundy, William H. Gray, IV, Justin Gray, and Andrew Gray; and seven great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. The family of Mrs. Hazel Yates Gray will hold a private memorial to celebrate her life and legacy.
~ Published in the Miami Herald from July 22 to July 23, 2015
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