Eleanor Holmes Norton: “Bill Gray lived the very definition of a fulfilled life--full of family, friends, history making as a public man and…”

“Bill Gray lived the very definition of a fulfilled life--full of family, friends, history making as a public man and above all, as a public servant. The first African American House Majority Whip, third in rank in the House, first African American chair of the House Budget Committee, Member of the House from Pennsylvania, author of the 1985 and 1986 South Africa sanction bills, a storied leader who broke fundraising records as the Chief Executive Officer of the United Negro College Fund, and pastor of Bright Hope Baptist Church for 25 years. At his premature death, Bill was co-chairman of his own consulting firm, GrayLoeffler and Corp. However, the highlights of Bill's life of public service did not fully define the man. Bill Gray left the Congress before I was elected and many were convinced that he would become the first African American Speaker of the House, had he chosen to remain in Congress. However, you did not have to be a member of Congress to get to know Bill Gray, so wide- ranging were his contributions, activities and his friendships. Bill was gifted with an agile mind, a magnetic personality, and a generous spirit. The shock, regret, and profound sadness Bill's loss leaves are mitigated only by the certain knowledge of a life fully, richly, and generously lived.”