A funeral Mass for Father James C. Gray will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 11, at Holy Spirit Church in Maryland Heights. A visitation will be held from 9-11 a.m. at the church. Father Gray died June 24 at Mother of Good Counsel Home in Northwoods. He was 72 years old.
Father Gray was born on Jan. 17, 1954, in Lincoln, Nebraska, the second of eight children to Mary and Edward Gray. From an early age, he was sensitive to injustices and revealed his altruistic nature by often acting as champion for playground underdogs. A scholar and an athlete in cross country and track, he attended St. John’s High School in Toledo, Ohio. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1976 before entering the seminary and was ordained a Jesuit at St. Mary’s Redford in Detroit in 1988. He earned a master’s in humanities from the University of Deroit, a master of divinity from the Weston School of Theology in Massachusetts, and a master’s in pastoral studies from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.
Father Gray served in marginalized communities in cities like New York, Detroit and Los Angeles. He was also a theology and history teacher, and particularly enjoyed his time at the University of Detroit High School and Xavier University in Cincinnati.
Father Gray moved to the Archdiocese of St. Louis in 1999 and was incardinated as a priest of the archdiocese in 2006. He began as an associate pastor at St. Sabina Parish in Florissant (1999-2001) and was later named as pastor and administrator of St. Boniface Parish in St. Louis (2001-05). While a full-time pastor, he also served full time as the Catholic chaplain at Barnes-Jewish hospital for 19 years. At one time, he was serving 16 intensive care units and three ER departments across three medical facilities.
While continuing as chaplain, Father Gray was assigned as pastor at Immaculate Conception Parish in Maplewood (2006-15). He also served as pastor of St. Jude in Overland (2015-23) and All Souls in Overland (2016-20). In 2023, he took a medical leave of absence, and in 2024 he retired to Regina Cleri. He moved to Mother of Good Counsel Home in 2025.
Father Gray is preceded in death by his parents, Mary and Edward Gray of Maumee, Ohio; his sister Mary Virginia Gray of Maumee; his clergy uncles, both of the St. Louis Archdiocese, Msgr. Edward W. Reilly and Rev. Lt. Colonel F. Joseph Reilly; and Brother James F. Gray of the Society of Mary.
He is survived survived by his brothers Edward Gray (Jane) and Steven Gray (Nancy Grant); his sisters Tish Gray Varraveto (Dominic), Jean Gray Napoli (Chaz), Margaret Gray (Danny Spina) and Kate Gray Barrera (Patricio); his nieces and nephews, great-nephews and great-niece and many beloved cousins.
Burial will be in All Saints Catholic Cemetery in Northfield, Ohio.
