Nellie Gray, a pro-life leader who founded the March for Life in 1974, has died at age 86. CNS photo/Nancy Phelan Wiechec

U.S. March for Life founder Nellie Gray, 86, dies

By  Mark Pattison, Catholic News Service
  • August 16, 2012

WASHINGTON - Nellie Gray, who started the annual March for Life parade to protest the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide, has died at age 86.

She was found dead in her home Aug. 13 in Washington's Capitol Hill neighbourhood by a March for Life staffer, Gene Ruane, who said the medical examiner will determine the cause and date of her death.

The March for Life has grown into one of the signature events of the pro-life movement. After the first march in 1974, Gray, a Texas native, established the March for Life Education & Defense Fund to sustain it.

Each year in her remarks, Gray exhorted pro-lifers to promote and adhere to a series of "life principles" that would eliminate abortion and enhance life, to which she said there should be "no exception! No compromise!"

Ruane, an administrative assistant with the March for Life, told Catholic News Service Aug. 14 that leadership of the organization would be assumed by Terrence Scanlon, who has been its vice president "since the beginning."

Funeral information was not immediately available. Gray was a member of St. Mary, Mother of God parish in Washington.

Born June 25, 1926, in Texas, Gray served as a corporal in the Women's Army Corps during the Second World War. She later earned a bachelor's degree in business and a master's in economics. She worked for the federal government for 28 years at the State Department and the Department of Labour, while attending Georgetown University Law School. Gray later practised law before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a 2010 profile, Gray said she wasn't a Catholic as a child, but "I had elements of the Catholic faith in my life." As a young woman, she encountered a priest who brought to light what the Catholic Church was about, and he tutored her until she joined the Church.

Gray also spoke of the march's origins.

"I received a call from the Knights of Columbus," she recalled. "I didn't even know who they were, but they explained their stance against abortion and needed a place to meet to discuss plans for a march. That place was my living room. About 30 people gathered there and they asked if I could help get speakers for the event since I knew Capitol Hill well.

"What I couldn't get was a master of ceremonies for the event," she added. "Politicians didn't want to get involved in a march, and people at that time weren't interested in marches after the civil rights movement and other things. That left the emcee job to me."

Tributes to Gray poured in as news of her death spread.

"The indelible mark she has left in this world can be seen in the generations of lives saved as a result of her dedicated work on behalf of the unborn," said an Aug. 13 statement from Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. "As we approach the tragic 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we are confident her legacy of pro-life activism will continue to inspire and effect change."

"As a colleague in national pro-life leadership, Nellie was always an inspiration to the rest of us," said an Aug. 13 statement by Fr. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life. "Her devotion was on display that same year, 2008, when, despite being in the hospital during the March for Life, she nevertheless was present at all all-day meeting of national leaders the very next morning."

Gray "mobilized millions to protest the injustice of Roe v. Wade and to speak out on behalf of unborn children, who have no voice of their own. While Miss Gray did not see Roe overturned in her lifetime, the movement she helped build — especially its young members — will not rest until the right to life is restored once again," said Deirdre McQuade, assistant director for policy and communications at the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, in an Aug. 14 statement.

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, co-chairman of the House Pro-Life Caucus, called her an "extraordinary pro-life leader" who was unstoppable as emcee of the march "even in the worst of weather and poor health."

Because of her leadership, the Roe decision "has been marked annually with a sombre remembrance that gives voice to the defenseless unborn and the women wounded by abortion," Smith said Aug. 14. "In Nellie's name we will continue her legacy of unceasing commitment to defending the unborn."

Gray is survived by three nieces and one nephew, all of whom live in Texas.

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