Gray, William G., 1914-

Born in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, in 1914, W.G. "Bud" Gray worked with the Mississippi Highway Patrol between 1940 and 1964. Gray was sheriff of Forrest County, Mississippi, between 1964 and 1968 during a period of civil rights activism. Gray was largely amenable to the needs and demands of local blacks and civil rights workers, a fact that angered some white natives.

William G. Gray was born just south of Starkville, Mississippi in 1914. He played football for Mississippi State University during the 1930s. In 1940, Gray joined the newly-formed Mississippi Highway Patrol. He transported The mobile electric chair to execution sites, and later he escourted several prominent Mississippi politicians. He was sheriff of Forrest County from 1964 to 1968 during voter registration drives in Hattiesburg and the investigation of Vernon Dahmer's murder.