Class of 1959

We, the Class of 1959, celebrated our 50th reunion on April 24 and 25, 2009. This blog is about sharing memories of our class reunions and a long-ago life at our Alma Mater, S.F.X.A. and S.A.H.S. Good memories of days gone by but not forgotten! A gift to my classmates. ~Marian Ann Love ~







Monday, October 20, 2025

"Patty" Hebler Gray Passes Away in Sept.


Margaret Patricia "Patty" Hebler Gray, age 82, passed away Tuesday morning, September 16, 2025, at her residence, just hours after the death of her beloved husband of 59 years, Richard Zane Gray. The two spent a lifetime side by side, and it brings their family comfort to know they left this world together.


Patty was born and raised in Vicksburg, Mississippi, with loving parents and three protective brothers who were always looking out for her. She loved sharing funny stories about her brothers, whom she adored, and she carried that same love and laughter into the lives of her children and grandchildren.

She attended St. Francis Xavier Academy from elementary school through high school (Class of 1961) and later earned her master's degree in speech pathology from the University of Southern Mississippi. Patty maintained close relationships with her friends from both St. Francis and Southern Miss, and she treasured those friendships throughout her life. Reunions and vacations with these dear friends were among some of her happiest memories.

Patty began her career as a speech pathologist at the Children's Hospital in New Orleans, where she met Richard. After moving to Corpus Christi, she continued her work at a speech and hearing center before focusing on raising their daughters. Over the years, she followed Richard during his career across the country and eventually went overseas to London, where the family lived for several years. She loved the adventure of British living. Patty and Richard enjoyed traveling together across Europe and even to Egypt. When the family eventually settled in Houston, she worked off and on in the public school system as a speech pathologist while always keeping her daughters at the center of her life.

Patty was her daughters' biggest supporter, cheering them on in everything they did. That same love and encouragement continued with her grandchildren, who were the light of her life and her greatest joy. She treasured every moment with them-celebrating milestones, sharing laughter, and simply being present-and they loved her just as deeply. To them, she was more than a grandmother; she was a constant source of love, laughter, and encouragement, and her impact on their lives will remain forever.

Patty is preceded in death by her beloved husband, Richard, and is survived by their two daughters, Daphne Gray Sampite and Nancy Gray; five grandchildren, Michael Sampite, Ryan Sampite, Zane Dufour, Aidan Dufour, and Riley Dufour; one brother, Thomas Michael Hebler; and extended family who will hold her memory close in their hearts. Richard and Patty's life together was filled with laughter, devotion, and love. They left this world only hours apart, a true reflection of how strong their bond was. Together, they built a family and a love that will live on.

Patty will always be remembered for her beautiful smile, her zest for life, and the kindness she showed to everyone she met. She was truly beautiful inside and out. Memorial contributions may be made to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation.


Picture of Patty and I at St. Paul Catholic Church during high school days.  She was in my sister, Laura Love Ables' Class of 1961.

Sunday, October 19, 2025

Old Folks Like Us

Old folks are worth a fortune: With silver in their hair, gold in their teeth, stones in their kidneys, lead in their feet, and gas in their stomachs.  I have become more social with the passing of the years; some might even call me a frivolous old gal.  I see five gentlemen every day.

As soon as I wake, Will Power helps me get out of bed.  Then I go to see John.  Then Charley Horse comes along, and when he is here, he takes a lot of my time and attention.  When he leaves, Arthur Ritis shows up and stays the rest of the day.  (He doesn't like to stay in one place very long, so he takes me from joint to joint.)  After such a busy day, I'm exhausted and glad to go to bed with Ben Gay.  What a life!

By the way, the preacher came to call the other day.  He said that at my age, I should be thinking about the hereafter.  I told him I do - all the time.  No matter where I am - in the living room, in the kitchen, or in the bedroom - I ask myself, "Now, what am I here after?"

Saturday, October 18, 2025

St. Xavier, Dear

 St. Xavier, Dear,

We'll think of thee
When classroom days
Have passed away.
Those happy days
To us will be
A bond of love
When far away.
St. Xavier Dear
St. Xavier Dear
Your colors rare
Of blue and white
Will always be
As dear to me
As on this very happy night.
Your daughters, too
Will all be true,
Oh, Alma Mater fair
A hymn of praise
To you we raise,
For you, our love declare.

Saturday, September 27, 2025

Lost In The Fifties Tonight (In The Still Of The Night)


The closer I get to "the end of the race," the more I retreat into the music of my youth in the '40s, '50s, and '60s. It was a special time to be alive. We who enjoyed it were fortunate.

Thursday, September 18, 2025

Prayers Needed

Please keep our classmate, Theresa, and her husband, Chuck, in your prayers.  They are having a lot of health issues.  Also, pray for all our classmates who are having health issues at our age.  May God bless us all.  

Monday, September 08, 2025

Brother's Get-Together!


 A great time last week with my brothers at a Vicksburg get-together! L-R Mickey (Class of 1959), Bobby, Jimmy & Mike.

Sunday, August 31, 2025

Classmate's Brother Dies

Michael Harris Logue

December 6, 1951 ~ August 26, 2025 (age 73)

Michael H. Logue passed away peacefully from complications of a stroke on August 26, 2025, at Vicksburg Convalescent Center, at age 73. He was the son of L. Harold Logue, Sr., and Lucille Blackledge Logue. His wife and soulmate is the former Mildred Rebecca Fields of Vicksburg, affectionately known locally as the former owner of Becca's Cookies and Becki's Bling. Their adventures took them cross-country numerous times.

Michael was preceded in death by his parents and his younger brother, Keith (Susan) of Longview, Texas. He is survived in Vicksburg by his bride, Becki, and his children: Adam Logue (friend Serah Clemons) and Amanda Logue Boone (Jonathan), and his stepson Dailon Huskey (Jana). His stepdaughter, Hope Huskey Hayes (Ben), resides in Happy Valley, Ore., and his older brother, Louis Harold Jr. (Sonya), and his baby sister, Mary Logue, of Longview, Texas. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Ella Kate Boone, Lori Isabella (Lily) Logue, Amelia Jo Boone, Hannah Bowles, and Darcy Huskey; Great-grandchildren, Lily Rose Bowles and Samuel Dean Bowles, and many nieces and nephews.

Michael and Becki were members of Triumph Church and, more recently, of Pinelake Church and its Rockers small group in Raymond. Michael and Becki were instrumental in developing and implementing innovative systems for church growth, membership retention, assimilation, and leadership training.

A celebratory visitation will be held at Glenwood Funeral Home in Vicksburg from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 4, 2025.

Honorary pallbearers will be members of the Vicksburg Battlefield Guide Association, Pinelake Rockers small group, Kelle Barfield, owner of Lorelei Books, Ben Shaw, Keith Matthews, and Leon Pantenburg.

His earliest local ancestors established a farm that would be later named Redbone Road in Warren County, Mississippi Territory, in 1814: the Cherokee Coodys and the Paces. Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, He was educated at Grove St. Elementary, St. Francis Xavier Academy, and St. Aloysius High School before graduating in 1969 from H.V. Cooper High School. He proudly boasted that he graduated in the top third of his class.

He received a bachelor's degree in communications from Mississippi State University in 1973 and a master's degree in mass communications management from Mississippi College in 1984, with additional advanced training in public affairs from the University of South Carolina in 1983, where he finished first in his class.

He received an associate's degree from Hinds Junior College in 1984 after transferring to MSU for an hour of PE.

He enjoyed a 42-year career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, focusing on corporate and crisis communications in the lower Mississippi River Valley and across the nation.

He began his career as a technical photographer and cinematographer at the Waterways Experiment Station, before advancing to technical reports editor there.

In 1976, he was named a public affairs writer-editor for the Corps' Vicksburg District. He created the District magazine, The Water's Edge, and the District's Employee Recreation Organization.

In that position, he served as editor and project manager for "Of Men and Rivers: The History of the Vicksburg District," U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The publication received the Award of Merit from the Mississippi Historical Society.

In 1981, he was named Deputy Public Affairs Officer, which included duties as Media Relations Coordinator. He became the Voice of the Vicksburg District, interacting with worldwide media during flood, drought, and civil works issues. He was a trusted source for media clients.

In 1985, he was named the Corps' youngest staff public affairs officer, providing command counsel on a wide range of issues, and managing the District's media, public information, corporate information, community relations, and emergency operations communications programs.

Working with project managers and public sponsor organizations, he served leadership roles in groundbreakings and dedications for critical, massive projects such as the Tensas-Cocodrie Pumping Plant, Lake Chicot Pumping Plant, five J. Bennett Johnston Waterway locks and dams on the Red River, and the H.K. Thatcher and Felsenthal locks and dams on the Ouachita River.

During his tenure, he created an innovative web-based system that proved 100% effective in defeating disinformation and misinformation. The system was implemented across the Corps. He would eventually train the system to DOD and NATO Information Operations officers.

In 1999, with Becki at his side, he also executed and trained his new process, Strategic E-Communication, for national-level corporations, organizations, and municipalities under his company, E-Power Public Relations and Communications.

In 2000, he became the owner and operator of Michael Logue Web Design in Vicksburg, providing more affordable web design options for small businesses. He serviced approximately 60 local companies and attractions, as well as others from Washington to California.

In 2004, he developed the innovative Management by the Numbers, an electronic system designed to reduce operational costs and continually improve team performance and morale. The public affairs version was adopted throughout the Corps' Mississippi Valley Division as a standard.

In August 2005, he was tasked as the public affairs mission manager for the Corps' FEMA recovery operations in Mississippi for Hurricane Katrina. In January 2007, he assumed the same post for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in New Orleans as a reemployed annuitant.

After his hurricane service, he spent ten years utilizing his specialized issue management and strategic planning skills on challenging public issues in the Sacramento, Jacksonville, and Albuquerque districts, as well as Corps' Headquarters in Washington. His last assignment was in the FEMA Recovery Field Office for the Tubbs wildfire recovery in Northern California in 2018.

During his tenure, he received a Corps' Lifetime Achievement Award in his career field, the first given to a living public affairs practitioner and only the second ever awarded at that time.

He was named the Corps' Michael C. Robinson Public Affairs Practitioner of the Year multiple times and Locke L. Mouton Emergency Communicator of the Year.

Upon his retirement in 2006, he received a Superior Service Award, the military equivalent of the Legion of Merit, for his innovative approaches and contributions to emergency operations and complex public issues.

He was named the 2006 Mississippi College Communications Alumnus of the Year.

Locally, he managed several national-award-winning educational programs, including the semester-long local-history class, the Mississippi River Course, in both local public high schools.

He also created and taught a sixteen-week homeschool and local civic course, titled "Vicksburg: From the Ice Age to the Space Age." He was an award-winning screenwriter of six motion picture screenplays, including Blood Trails, a story about the forced relocation of the Choctaw to Oklahoma.

He helped develop the themes and suggested art displays for the Corps' Jesse Brent Lower Mississippi River Interpretive Center in Vicksburg.

In 2007, his transition to communications consultant allowed time for three of his passions: history, gardening, and genealogy.

A national genealogy consultant, he created a six-week Legends and Legacies class with the Southern Cultural Heritage Center, which takes twelve local families at a time, six times a year, on a search for their family roots. He was able to preserve over 1,000 family lines connected to Warren County, their migration, and their stories.

He spearheaded the creation of the Historic Vicksburg Advisory Council, a consortium of approximately fifty interrelated businesses and organizations focused on growing the local history and tourism industry. He served on the Mayor's Commission for the Tercentennial of Fort St. Pierre, the region's first French presence.

He was a member of the Vicksburg Historical Society, the Mississippi Historical Society, and the Friends of Vicksburg Campaign and Siege. He was a former board member of the Old Depot Museum and the Vicksburg Riverfront Murals project.

He was also a state-certified storm spotter for the area.

Becoming a licensed battlefield guide in 2014, he served five years as president of the Vicksburg Guide Association. He created and managed the Facebook blog, Michael Logue's Vicksburg Campaign and Siege, since 2015. He was voted Warren County's best city-battlefield guide by the citizens of Warren County in 2023.

In 2014, he also achieved the level of Warren County Master Gardener with the Mississippi State Extension Service.

In 2021, he published his 300-page autobiography, Where The Roads Of My Life Have Taken Me.

In 2023, he published the first comprehensive history of West Central Mississippi and Vicksburg, titled Echoes from the Bluffs, which garnered high reviews both nationally and abroad.

In 2024, he received the Award of Merit from the Mississippi Historical Society for the innovative approach to telling the history of Vicksburg in the book.

In the community, he served previously on the board of the Optimist Club and as chair and disaster chair of the Vicksburg chapter of the American Red Cross.

Instead of flowers or other tributes, donations may be made to Vicksburg Storehouse Community Pantry, 718 Bowmar Avenue, Vicksburg, MS 39180.

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