Parker-Gray High School celebrates their 100th Anniversary this year. Students who attended Parker-Gray fondly remember the unique school they attended during segregation. These former students are still proud of their principal and teachers for making the school a great institution. In spite of segregation, many of the Parker-Gray graduates found good paying jobs, advanced their education, or were the first to graduate in their family, and the first to have jobs that were not domestic. Those former students wanted to continue the legacy that the staff at Parker-Gray left them.
In 1975, members of the graduating classes of 1954 and 1955 were holding separate reunion meetings at the Departmental Club when they decided to come together as one for a school-wide reunion. As a result, the Alumni Association of Parker-Gray School was founded. Their first elected president was James E. Henson, Esq.
James E. Henson Sr., retired Howard County Human Rights Office chief, dies baltimoresun.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from baltimoresun.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Photo by John Bordner/Gazette Packet
Jim Henson, seated center, holds his Living Legends portrait presented to him during a walk-by parade in his honor following his diagnosis of lung cancer in late September. With Henson are members of the Departmental Progressive Club and the Living Legends board of directors. Photo by Janet Barnett/Gazette Packet
A sign presented to Jim Henson memorializing his trademark phrase “too blessed to be stressed.”
Jim Henson was a man-about-town, known for his dapper dressing, infectious smile and engaging personality. But most notably he was known for the five words he uttered each time he greeted friends and strangers alike. To anyone who asked, Henson was always “too blessed to be stressed.”