Ferdinand Vincent Grayson

GRAYSON Ferdinand Vincent Grayson, age 100, passed away on Friday, December 18, 2009 at Poydras Home in New Orleans. Born in New York City, Mr. Grayson spent most of this childhood in Waverly, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Syracuse University and went on to earn a Masters Degree in Social Work at Columbia University. A career social worker, Mr. Grayson was Chief Executive Officer of the United Way of the Greater New Orleans Area from 1959 to 1974. Previously, he was Executive Director of the United Way of the National Capital Area in Washington, D.C.; Executive Director of the Welfare Planning Council, Scranton, PA; and Executive Director of the Emergency Relief Bureau in Lewistown, PA during the depression. He was a member of the National Association of Social Workers and its predecessor professional associations since 1935. After retiring from the United Way, Mr. Grayson was a Board Member and Secretary of the Louisiana Service Corps; the Executive of the New Orleans-based German Protestant Orphan Asylum Foundation; and an active volunteer consultant for various non-profit agencies. Mr. Grayson was instrumental in developing the Louisiana State University Graduate School of Social Work in Baton Rouge, as an Associate Professor. During World War II, he was with the American National Red Cross in Washington, D.C. as Chief of Personnel Training, Services to the Armed Forces, overseeing the training of 25,000 Red Cross volunteers who served with the U.S. overseas military operations. Mr. Grayson was an active member of Rayne Memorial United Methodist Church since 1959, serving as the church's Administrative Board Chairman and in a major role in founding and expanding the Rayne Early Childhood Program. In 1974, the Board of Laity of the New Orleans Methodist District presented Mr. Grayson the Outstanding Layman of the Year award. Mr. Grayson was a family man in the truest sense. He is predeceased by his wife of 56 years, Elizabeth Bennett Grayson; daughter, Barbara Grayson Benko; and son, Thomas Bennett Grayson. His survivors include daughter, Margaret (Peggy) Grayson Post and son-in-law, Allen Cookman Post; grandson, the Reverend Andrew Grayson and wife, the Reverend Hope Tinsley Benko; great-granddaughter, Harper Lynn Benko; son-in-law, Ronald Barry Benko and wife, Dean Kent Myrick Benko; his close friend, Evelyn Landis Christman; and Mrs. Christman's large New Orleans family who embraces Mr. Grayson as one of their family members. Friends and relatives are invited to a Memorial Service at Rayne Memorial United Methodist Church, 3900 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, on Saturday, January 9, 2010, at 2:30 PM and visitation afterward at the church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Rayne Memorial United Methodist Church, 3900 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70115, or the United Way For Greater New Orleans Area, 2515 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA 70119.