Gladys Elaine McCrary Gregory went to be with her Lord and Savior on June 4, 2021. She was born on June 14, 1932 in Columbus, Mississippi to Eubanks and Frances Shackelford McCrary. Gladys graduated from S. D. Lee High School in Columbus in 1950 and attended Mississippi State College for Women. On September 13, 1952, she married the love of her life, Vernon Gregory, Jr. During Vernon’s 21-year Air Force career, Gladys was the rock upon which her family relied for stability during numerous stateside and overseas assignments. Upon his retirement from active duty in 1974, Vernon and Gladys returned to Columbus, Mississippi where Gladys served as a secretary in the Mississippi University for Women Alumni office. She was a faithful member of First Baptist Church, Columbus; a member of the Koinonia Sunday School Class; and volunteered with her church’s Love in Deed benevolence program. An avid gardener, Gladys was a member of the Terra Firma Garden Club, of which she was a Past President. She was preceded in death by her parents and by her sister Joyce McCrary Miller (Wiley) and survived by her husband of sixty-nine years, Vernon; two sons, Colonel Thomas Edward Gregory (USMC, Ret.) and his wife Brenda of Abbeville, Mississippi and Major Bruce Alan Gregory (USAF, Ret.) and his wife Felicia of Newport News, Virginia; five grandchildren, and six great grandchildren. Honorary Pallbearers are the members of the Koinonia Sunday School Class at First Baptist Church, Columbus.
