Dr. Mattelia B. Grays' Obituary
Dr. Mattelia Bennett Grays was born on July 26, 1931, in Houston, Texas, to the Reverend Abel B. Bennett and Mrs. Delcia McNeal Bennett. Her siblings are Cornel Joseph Jefferson, Sr. (Retired) and the late Barbara Jefferson (Orlando, FL); the late Willie Mae Sanford (Los Angeles, CA); Joan Bennett McBride and the late Randolph McBride (Los Angeles, CA). During her formative years, Dr. Grays and her family attended Pleasant Hill Baptist Church until her father built from the ground up a small church, St. John Missionary Baptist Church, in Chappell Hill, Texas.
Dr. Grays attended HISD schools and graduated in 1948 as salutatorian of her graduating class at Booker T. Washington High School. One day, she was called to the principal’s office, where Dr. Bryant informed her that she had received a full-ride scholarship to attend Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Dr. Grays thrived and excelled in her studies. During a Sunday service during homecoming, the special guest speaker was Dr. Edna Over Gray Campbell, the 12th International President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She attended the church service and was immediately intrigued and impressed with Supreme Basileus Campbell. Dr. Grays said to herself, “I am going to be one of them!” In 1952, she pledged and was initiated into Beta Upsilon Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She received her B.A. degree from Dillard University in 1952 and was married to Horace Wesley Grays, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated the same year.
The couple has one daughter, Karen Grays-Gray (Benjamin Gray, son-in-law), a grandson, Kristopher John Howard (Jennifer Howard, granddaughter-in-law), and great-grandchildren, Karolina Austen Howard, and Kristopher John Howard, Jr., including numerous cousins, nephews, and nieces.
She received her M.A. degree with honors in special education from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She later received her Doctorate in educational administration from Pacific University in Sacramento, California, in 1985. She returned to Houston to teach in the Houston Independent School District. After several years with HISD, she began working summers with the University of Houston as a supervisor for laboratory experiences for teachers of culturally deprived children. She would go on to act as a consultant for the Continuous Progress Learning Corporation and principal of Rogers Educational Enrichment Center from 1970 to 1987. Under her leadership, the center served as a teacher training center and was named “One of Six Super Schools” by Texas Monthly magazine. She became District Three Superintendent of the Houston Independent School District in 1987.
Upon graduation from the University of Michigan, Dr. Grays transferred her sorority membership to Alpha Kappa Omega Chapter in Houston, where she served as chapter president and South Central Regional Director. She was the youngest person ever elected as International President of the sorority in 1968 and was installed at the sorority’s biennial national convention in 1970.
She was interviewed by The History Makers on March 11, 2008 as part of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s 2008 Centennial Boule celebration. Segments of these interviews were distributed and entitled A.K.A. Sorority: Legacy of Leadership.
As national president, Dr. Grays emphasized member involvement and was adamant about every member embracing her financial responsibility to the sorority. She headed the sorority’s effort to purchase the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and presented a check for $20,000 to Coretta Scott King. Her focus as sorority president included Negro heritage brochures, chapter programs, educational grants, Job Corps, and leadership training.
A little-known fact is Dr. Grays, during the Civil Rights era, was instrumental and the driving force in chartering 14 undergraduate chapters of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated on predominatly white universities. During her term as Supreme Basileus, she chartered a total of 56 undergraduate chapters at predominatly white universities.
Dr. Grays was a charter member of the Port City Chapter of The Links, Incorporated. The Metropolitan Women’s League was founded in 1985 in Houston, Texas. The purpose was to establish a group of committed women to work together in friendship and service. These women enhanced the quality of life for African Americans and other citizens in Houston. Their dream became a reality on May 16, 1987, when 26 Metropolitan Women’s League members became charter members of the Port City (TX) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated. Her passion was education, and one of her favorites was the Port City Chapter’s annual Oratorial Contest for students in grades 3-12, which started in 1989 and was the chapter’s signature program for many years.
Dr. Grays retired from the Houston Independent School District and continued to reside in Houston, Texas. She has been honored by several organizations, including Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. The AKA South Central Region has a scholarship named in her honor, and she was named an outstanding alumna of Booker T. Washington High School.
Dr. Grays was an excellent cook; her ride-or-die, Horace, the original “Honey Do,” served as her sous chef. She made the best gumbo and loved to entertain. The Grays’ Christmas Eve party was an event of grand proportions; security, parking attendants, and all food was expertly prepared by the “Grand Diva,” as she was lovingly called. She always said that the house was its prettiest when it was full of friends and family during the holiday season.
Dr. Mattelia Bennett Grays and Horace Wesley Grays were two forces to be reckoned with and a blessing to all who knew and loved them; when you saw one, you saw the other. They were incredible parents and a great husband and wife team. They traveled the world together always, attending AKA Boules, regional conferences, Kappa Black and White Balls, and trips abroad to Paris, France, Johannesburg, South Africa, Victoria Falls, Livingstone, Zambia, and Australia, to name a few. Horace loved his wife dearly, and she was never the same after his passing. Although our hearts are heavy, we are all blessed to have been touched by her greatness. She is now resting in the hands of God along with the love of her life Horace.
Her favorite quote was, “Life Owes Me Naught, For I’ve Lived My Day!”
Her life will be celebrated at The Fountain of Praise Church, 13950 Hillcroft Ave., Houston, TX 77085, Monday, November 14, 2022 at 10:30 am. The ceremony by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. will begin at 9:00 am. The ceremony by The Links, Incorporated will begin at 9:45 am.
Entombment will take place at Forest Park Lawndale - Mausoleum, 6900 Lawndale St., Houston, TX 77023.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the IEACF South Central Region Mattelia B. Grays/Julia B. Purcell EAF Scholarship: www.akaeaf.org/endowments
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