James Edward "Cricket" Gregory, Jr. Scholarship

James Edward Gregory, Jr. was born on May 7, 1957 in Houston, Texas. He was the second child of James Edward Gregory, Sr. and Shirley June Page Gregory. James was fondly known as “Cricket” by his family and friends. Throughout his life James maintained his strong priorities: faith in God, love of his family, strong work ethic, and the beauty and pleasure of the outdoors. James always looked at the positive in everything and never allowed his life challenges to hold him back from his dreams. Born with a non-reading impaired disability did not dissuade James from graduating from Huntsville High School. He proudly walked across the stage in 1976 to receive his diploma. After 16 years in the grocery business James was employed by Sam Houston State University in 1990. James worked in the Custodial Services Department for twenty-two years, never missing a day until the last 3 months of his Life when his illness overcame his ability. James ‘s positive attitude, work ethic and pride in accomplishment was a well-known fact across the university campus. Supervisors report that once James learned a task, he performed it with pe1feetion. James was not someone- who had to be supervised but one that set his own standard of excellence and was looked upon by management as setting a standard for others to follow. For most of his career at Sam Houston James was assigned to the Newton Grisham Library. This was a particularly special assignment to James because he was able to interact daily with students with whom he developed many friendships through the years. He thought highly of his co-workers who he considered his “work family” and enjoyed coming to work every day. After many visits to numerous doctors in-an-attempt—tr1——­find out the source of his illness, James was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, more commonly known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. James loved people and people loved James. He was never without a big smile on his face and a kind word He was genuinely interested in everyone that he met. His cheerful spirit was contagious and he was an inspiration to all that crossed his path. James will always be remembered as “Cricket” by those who were fortunate enough to be in his circle of friends and experience his special gift of constant happiness and selfless love for others.