Eugene Gilliard Gregory

Eugene “Gene” Gilliard Gregory, son of Julia Virginia Burnette and Ernest Moody, was born in Greensboro, Greene County, Georgia on July 18, 1938. The only information I have for his father, which came from my daddy, Sam Lankford, is that Julia never married him. Gene was Julia’s only child and she apparently called him Sonny. He is my 1st cousin 1x removed with our nearest common relatives being my great-grandparents, Thomas Terrell Burnette and Elizabeth Jones.

Gene would have been two years old when the 1940 census was taken but I have been unable to find him. I did find his mother Julia living with her widowed mother and brother Henry in the Walkers District of Greene County. They were the only three people in the home that day, the same home they were living in in 1935. Julia was working a 40-hour week as a farm laborer. I did find a Moody family in Greensboro with a two-year-old son living next door to Julia’s sister Claudie Burnette Peek, but his name was not Eugene or Gene. 

Eugene Gregory

About 1942, Gene’s mother married Jerry Meyer Gregory, son of John W. Gregory and Cleo McLain. There was a 31-year age difference between Julia and Jerry. When they married, Gene gained a step brother, John (Buck) Gregory, and step sister, Anna Mae Gregory. Jerry adopted Gene in Atlanta and he took the Gregory name at that time. Daddy once told me that Jerry was a good man—good to everybody. Daddy also said Jerry treated him as if he were his own child. Daddy lived with the Gregory family for two to three years, probably in the mid-1940s. I imagine that Jerry treated Gene that same way he treated Daddy, probably better. In 1944, the Gregory family lived at 714 Central Avenue in Atlanta. Julia worked as a packer for the Bullock Manufacturing Company and Jerry, a plumber, ran his business, Gregory’s Plumbing and Supply Company, in Atlanta. My aunt Betty, who would have been Gene’s first cousin, remembered her aunt Julia bringing Gene back to Greensboro a few times a year, taking him to a barber shop there. She thought the barber shop was named Moody’s but was not sure.

On April 7, 1950, Gene (age 11), his mother and Jerry lived on Central Avenue in Atlanta. His mother worked at a potato chip company, packing potato chips and Jerry worked as a plumbing contractor. I do not know when Jerry started the business, but he owned and operated the Gregory Plumbing Company in Atlanta in the 1950s. In fact, Jerry taught my daddy how to be a plumber. 

My daddy, Sam Lankford (3rd from left) standing in front of Gregory Plumbing (other men unknown)

Sometime after the 1950 census was taken, Gene’s mother and Jerry divorced. My guess is the divorce happened by the end of 1950 because Julia was not listed with Jerry in the 1950 Atlanta city directory, whereas she had been in past years.

Gene attended Hoke Smith High School in Atlanta, Georgia (near Grant Park) from 1952 to 1956. 

Eugene (1953)

Gene, pictured far right in the photo below, was an officer in Hoke Smith’s Legislators Club in 1956.

He was the co-captain of the football team in 1956, playing the position of halfback.

In 1956, Gene was the only senior on the basketball team and considered “one of the city’s most outstanding guards” according to the Hoke yearbook. That year, the team missed the state tournament by one game.

Eugene pictured holding the basketball (click to enlarge)

He played third base on the baseball team in 1956. Gene is standing in the back row, first on the left, in the photo below.

(click to enlarge)

It was no surprise to find Gene was voted “Most Athletic” in the 1956 yearbook. The many articles in the sports pages of The Atlanta Journal newspaper for the three sports Gene played backs this accolade up.

When Jerry Gregory died in May 1956, Gene was not listed in his obituary, as a son or otherwise. The obituary did indicate there was a “Mrs. Gregory” however. I thought it odd that Gene was not listed since I was told Jerry adopted Gene. Then when Jerry’s ex-wife Mary died in 1957, her obituary listed her as “the widow of Jerry M. Gregory, a plumbing contractor.” Had Jerry remarried Mary and she chose to not include Gene in the obituary? Pure speculation on my part as I find no record to prove that. Later that year (1956), Gene was married at the Grant Park Baptist Church in Atlanta. In this case, the engagement announcement recognized Jerry by stating “… Eugene Gillard Gregory, son of Mrs. Julia Gregory and the late J. M. Gregory of Greensboro.” 

Gene’s marriage was blessed with two children. Because they are most likely alive today, the names of his wife and children will not be included here. One of the two children was born in June 1960. The same day Gene’s wife was in the hospital going through what would end up as 30 hours of labor, Gene was sitting in the waiting room with another man who was becoming a father again for the first time in 19 years. The Atlanta Journal had a reporter there to do a “Father’s Day” story on the other man and he took a few minutes to interview Gene as well. Gene’s thoughts on becoming a father were in an article published on June 19. Gene told the reporter “Getting to be a father is the greatest feeling I’ve ever had in my life” … “And, you know, you really find out who your friends are at a time like this. Two of our friends came down here at 2 o’clock and stayed with us till 9 this morning. They had to go to work at 9—but they’re worrying about me even now.” The other man’s baby weighed in at 12 pounds, Gene’s weighed nearly 10. 

Tragically, Gene’s life was cut short when he was killed at the age of 38 in a four-car accident in DeKalb County, Georgia on September 30, 1976. Daddy told me that Gene was killed instantly by a teenage drunk driver who ran a stop sign. He remembered hearing about it on the radio the day it happened. An October 1 article published by The Atlanta Journal reported that Gene was killed “when a car containing six juveniles ran a red light …” so that corroborates part of the story. The article goes on to report “… the car driven by the juvenile touched a second car, then struck Gregory’s car in the side, forcing it into a fourth vehicle.” It never mentions anything about a drunk driver, nor do I find another article in the days after, so am unable to confirm that piece of information. Gene, who lived in Decatur at the time, was buried on October 2 at Crestlawn Memorial Park in Atlanta following a service officiated by Dr. Richard M. Thompson at Ward’s Glenwood Chapel. He was survived by his wife, two sons, and mother Julia (Burnette) Stroud.

Gene spent 18 years working as a meat manager at Colonial Stores. He attended and was a member of Indian Creek Baptist Church in Decatur. I do not recall ever meeting Gene. If I did, I was too young to remember. But from all accounts, it sounds like he was a good man.

References

• [Redacted]-Gregory Engagement Announcement, The Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, Georgia, August 5, 1956.
• Atlanta, Georgia, City Directory, 1942 to 1951.
• Decatur Man Killed in Wreck, The Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, Georgia, October 1, 1976.
• Eugene Gregory, The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia, October 2, 1976.
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/202316022/eugene-gilliard-gregory: accessed 23 September 2023), memorial page for Eugene Gilliard “Gene” Gregory (18 Jul 1938–30 Sep 1976), Find a Grave Memorial ID 202316022, citing Crest Lawn Cemetery, Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, USA; maintained by BARBARA LANGLEY SMITH (contributor 49682481).
• Hoke Smith High School Yearbooks, Atlanta, Georgia, 1952–1956.
• James, Hunter, Just Like New: After 19 Years, He’s Daddy Again, The Atlanta Journal, June 19, 1960.
• Jerry M. Gregory, The Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta, Georgia, May 12, 1956.
• Mrs. Mary E. Gregory, The Atlanta Journal, Atlanta, Georgia, December 7, 1957.
• Personal memories of Sam Lankford and Betty Lankford Elrod.
• U.S. Federal Census, Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, 1950.
• U.S. Federal Census, Greensboro, Greene County, Georgia, 1940.