Individual Details
Naomi Opal Ritter
(24 Sep 1910 - 14 Mar 1993)
Opal Ritter, the youngest daughter of Stephen David and Sallie Annice (Kirkpatrick) Ritter, attended Mississippi State Teachers' College (now the University of Southern Mississippi). After graduation she worked as a deputy circuit court clerk in Monroe County, Mississippi, where her father was a three-time Circuit Court Clerk. After her father's retirement, Opal ran for the office and was elected. She was the first woman to be elected to a county office in Monroe County. Following her four-year term, she declined to run again.
On 7 July 1946, Opal married Walton Greene Gray. She met him through her work as Circuit Court Clerk. During World War II, she received a letter from Lieutenant Walton G. Gray, who was stationed with the U.S. Navy on the island of New Caledonia in the South Pacific, asking for an absentee voting ballot. This was the beginning of a correspondence that lasted through the war years, and upon his return to Aberdeen, their friendship grew into love and marriage.
Walton received his civil engineering degree from Mississippi State University prior to joining the navy. Following their marriage, he worked for J. A. Jones Construction Company. After a few years of moving around the country, he joined the Northern District of the Mississippi Highway Department. They lived in Batesville (in Panola Co.) and Tupelo (in Lee Co.), Mississippi. Walton died 27 August 1963. Opal then moved back to Aberdeen and has lived there since. She is a member of the First Presbyterian Church and was elected elder, the first woman to hold that position in her church. She has no children.
The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN, March 16, 1993
Opal Gray Dies; Ex-Deputy Clerk
The first woman elected to a Monroe County public office, Opal Ritter Gray, died Sunday at Aberdeen-Monroe County Hospital. Mrs. Gray, 82, was former Monroe County deputy circuit clerk. Services will be at 2 p.m. today at Lann Memorial Funeral Home with burial in Odd Fellows Rest Cemetery. She also was one of the first women elected as an elder of Aberdeen First Presbyterian Church. She was a graduate of Amory High School. Mrs. Gray, the widow of Walton Greene Gray, leaves two sisters, Nova Lou Ritter and Annabel Ritter, both of Aberdeen. In lieu of flowers, the family requests any memorials be sent to First Presbyterian Church or a charity of the donor's choice.
On 7 July 1946, Opal married Walton Greene Gray. She met him through her work as Circuit Court Clerk. During World War II, she received a letter from Lieutenant Walton G. Gray, who was stationed with the U.S. Navy on the island of New Caledonia in the South Pacific, asking for an absentee voting ballot. This was the beginning of a correspondence that lasted through the war years, and upon his return to Aberdeen, their friendship grew into love and marriage.
Walton received his civil engineering degree from Mississippi State University prior to joining the navy. Following their marriage, he worked for J. A. Jones Construction Company. After a few years of moving around the country, he joined the Northern District of the Mississippi Highway Department. They lived in Batesville (in Panola Co.) and Tupelo (in Lee Co.), Mississippi. Walton died 27 August 1963. Opal then moved back to Aberdeen and has lived there since. She is a member of the First Presbyterian Church and was elected elder, the first woman to hold that position in her church. She has no children.
The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN, March 16, 1993
Opal Gray Dies; Ex-Deputy Clerk
The first woman elected to a Monroe County public office, Opal Ritter Gray, died Sunday at Aberdeen-Monroe County Hospital. Mrs. Gray, 82, was former Monroe County deputy circuit clerk. Services will be at 2 p.m. today at Lann Memorial Funeral Home with burial in Odd Fellows Rest Cemetery. She also was one of the first women elected as an elder of Aberdeen First Presbyterian Church. She was a graduate of Amory High School. Mrs. Gray, the widow of Walton Greene Gray, leaves two sisters, Nova Lou Ritter and Annabel Ritter, both of Aberdeen. In lieu of flowers, the family requests any memorials be sent to First Presbyterian Church or a charity of the donor's choice.
Events
| Birth | 24 Sep 1910 | Monroe Co., Mississippi |  | ||
| Marriage | 7 Jul 1946 | Walton Greene Gray | | ||
| Death | 14 Mar 1993 | Amory, Monroe Co., Mississippi | | ||
| Alt name | Opal Gray | ||||
| Burial | Odd Fellows Rest Cemetery, Aberdeen, Monroe Co., Mississippi | |
Families
| Spouse | Walton Greene Gray (1904 - 1963) |
| Father | Stephen David Ritter (1866 - 1947) |
| Mother | Sallie Annice Kirkpatrick (1871 - 1953) |
| Sibling | Augustus Houston Ritter (1895 - 1986) |
| Sibling | Mary Velma Ritter (1898 - 1984) |
| Sibling | Luna Jane Ritter (1900 - 1926) |
| Sibling | Nova Lou Ritter (1904 - 1994) |
| Sibling | Annabel Ritter (1907 - 1999) |
Endnotes
1. Find A Grave.
2. Find A Grave.
3. Find A Grave.
4. Find A Grave, Contributor request to add or delete information.
5. The Commerical Appeal, Obituary of Opal Gray (n.p: March 16, 1993, n.d).
6. Find A Grave.