Donald Dean Gregory of McKinney, Texas passed away on October 27, 2019 at the age of 82. He was born on November 21, 1936 to Orman Johnson Gregory and Chloe Dell (Langford) Gregory in Wilson, Oklahoma. Don married Jane (Harrington) Gregory on January 30, 1965 in Big Spring, Texas.
Don graduated from Big Spring High School in 1955. He served in the United States Navy from 1955 - 1959 as an Aviation Electronics Petty Officer Second Class on VP-47 seaplanes, which gave him the opportunity to travel the world, including two tours of Japan. When serving in the United States Navy Reserve, he rose to E-6 Petty Officer First Class.
He graduated Howard College in Big Spring, Texas (‘62), before earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from North Texas State University (‘65 and ‘67) and his Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University (‘77).
Don served on the Stephen F. Austin State University faculty for more than three decades. He began his career at SFA as a Political Science instructor in 1971 and later served as Chairman of the Political Science and Geography Department for 14 years. He was named Professor Emeritus by the SFA Board of Regents upon his retirement in 2004. At SFA, Don’s teaching specializations included judicial process, American legal systems and constitutional law. He published numerous articles and presented papers on Texas politics, constitutional law and the U.S. Supreme Court. He served as the pre-law adviser for 30 years and was twice selected as SFA Adviser of the Year. Don co-founded the Texas Moot Court Association and coached the highly successful SFA Moot Court Team. He served as chair of the SFA Student Conduct Review Board for more than a decade and represented the university on three Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation visitation teams.
Don was a lay pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA). He served several Presbyterian Churches in East Texas for almost 20 years. Don was a long-time member of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Nacogdoches, Texas where he was ordained as an elder and served on the Session many times. He and his wife Jane became active members of Trinity Presbyterian Church in McKinney, Texas upon their move to McKinney in 2009. At Trinity, he served as a Stephen Minister for five years and also frequently taught Sunday School classes and made presentations to other adult ministries.
In addition to his church service, Don was involved in the Nacogdoches community. He served as the Scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 161 for many years where he led several young men to attain the rank of Eagle Scout, and he also served as the Nacogdoches County Dixie League Softball Commissioner.
Don is survived by his wife, Jane Gregory of McKinney, Texas; children, Steve Gregory and his wife, Amy of Dallas, Texas, Karen Gantt and her husband Bryan of McKinney, Texas; grandchildren, Kate, Abby, Janie, and Jack; niece, Linda Jenson and her husband, Ken; numerous cousins and a host of other loving family and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Orman and Chloe Gregory; sister, Sally Hyatt; and nephew, Gary Hyatt.
A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Monday, November 4, 2019 at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 5871 Virginia Parkway, McKinney, Texas 75071. The family requests that donations be made to the Dr. Donald D. Gregory Professorship, SFASU Foundation, P.O. Box 6092, SFA Station, Nacogdoches, Texas 75962-6092.