TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
Reginald G. Gray 1955-2022 Dallas, TX, Parks & Recreation, Coach
James Hill, Jr. 1941-2021 Accountant, Co-Founder of National Black MBA Association
business and philanthropic commu- nity, he received numerous awards and honors for both his professional and community work. His professional affiliations included the Association of International Certified Accountant, the Illinois CPA Society, the National Black Association of Accountants, and the National Black MBA Association as a founding member. “With NBMBAA, we created an opportunity for Blacks to go to business schools. As graduates, we went into cor- porate America or started Black-owned businesses, creating new opportunities for Blacks, Hispanics, & whites.” He was a board member of various community and nonprofit organiza- tions, including the Illinois Institute of Technology, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, the Better Government Association, Citizen Information Ser- vice, the Chicago Commons Associa- tion, the Economic Club of Chicago, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, and the Chicago Economic Advisory Commit- tee. He also was a council member to the graduate business schools at both the University of Chicago and the Uni- versity of Illinois. A Life Member of the Fraternity, Brother James Hill was preceded in death by his sister, Janet (Hill) Jenkins and his brother, Warner Hill. He is survived by sons, James (Mary) Hill, III (Alpha Nu 1985) and Dr. Brian Hill, Sr., his former wife Sheree Franklin, stepdaughter Brittany Hogan, and the mother of his children Gloria Fields. He also leaves to his legacy seven grand- children, Chrisheena Hill, James Hill IV, Brian (Margaret) Hill, Jr. Jacqueline Hill, Lauren Hill, Ashley Dieudonne McDaniels, Matthew Dieudonne, and three great-grandchildren, McKenzie Fizer, Christian Hill, and Laurence Williams.
Longtime Dal-
las (TX) Alumni member Reginald G. Gray (Dal- las (TX) Alumni 1980) entered the Chapter Invis- ible on March 22,
In 1970, James Hill, Jr. (Delta Zeta 1962) founded the
National Black MBA Associa-
tion (NBMBAA) along with other MBA students at the University of Chicago Business School. He entered the Chapter Invisible on Thursday, December 23rd, 2021. The NBMBAA leadership released the following state- ment on Hill: “It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we inform our NBMBAA family of the passing of a trailblazing member, astute businessman, and con- summate entrepreneur, James Hill, Jr.” Hill was born on August 20, 1941, in Baltimore, MD to the late James Sr. and Joyce Lee (née Woodward) Hill. He graduated from Baltimore’s Dunbar High School before attending Central State University where he earned a B.S. de- gree in accounting in 1964. He earned an M.B.A. degree in personnel adminis- tration and accounting in 1967 from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He began his career as a cost accoun- tant for Union Carbide in Niagara Falls, NY before attending business school. He joined Alexander Grant & Company (Grant Thornton) and was the firm's first African-American auditor in 1967. Between 1968 and 1970, Hill worked as the deputy director of the Chicago Economic Development Corporation while owning several car wash business- es. After passing the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam he founded his own accounting firm in 1972, Hill, Taylor, LLC, located in Chicago, IL, and then subsequently merged his firm and retired as a partner with Mitchell & Titus, LLP. He was CPA-licensed in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Extremely active in the Chicago
2022, at 67. A Dallas native,
Reginald Glenn Gray was the oldest of three sons born to the late Mr. Mau- rice Gray, Sr., and Mrs. Earline Jones Gray. A product of the Dallas Indepen- dent School District, Gray was a 1972 graduate of Franklin D. Roosevelt High School, where he was a team trainer to the 1972 State Championship basket- ball team. He earned a B.A. degree in recreational leadership from Bishop College in 1977. Gray worked for the City of Dallas Parks and Recreation Department at Eloise Lundy Recreation Center. He retired after 25 years with the city. A lover of all sports, Reginald coached nu- merous baseball, softball, and basketball leagues throughout the city and was a mentor to countless youth. He was inducted into the Prairie View A&M Interscholastic Coaches Association’s “Hall of Fame” in 2017 in Houston. He was a Life Member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. and a perma- nent fixture at the Kappa House in south Dallas. A member of the Dallas Pan- Hellenic Council for over twenty years, representing Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, he was named “Frater of the Year” and was honored as a “ Living Legend” by the council. Brother Reginald G. Gray is preced- ed in death by his brother Maurice Gray, Jr. He is survived by his brother, Keith Earl Gray, a niece, great-niece, and nephew, and a host of relatives, friends, Bishop College alumni, and Dallas (TX) Alumni members.
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