Gaynelle Griffin Jones

Gaynelle Griffin Jones, appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1993 as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, died March 1, 2013, after a three year battle with cancer. Jones also served on the First Court of Appeals in Texas.

After graduating from Boston College Law School, Jones served as a state and federal prosecutor in Louisiana and Texas. She also practiced corporate law in Boston and Houston, most recently as litigation counsel for Hewlett-packard Co. She was also an adjunct professor of trial advocacy at the University of Houston.

She is survived by her husband, Robert Jones and her daughter, Athena Jones, a CNN correspondent.  Click here to view the Houston Chronicle obituary. Funeral services were held on March 9, 2013, where NAFUSA  presented her family with an American flag flown over Main Justice in her honor.

Former NAFUSA executive director Ron Woods represented NAFUSA at the funeral and reported:

I received the attached NAFUSA plaque (photo) Friday afternoon before the Saturday, March 9, 2013 funeral.  Plaque reads “Flown over the US Department of Justice March 5, 2013 in Honor of Gaynelle Griffin Jones, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, 1993-1997”.  Her husband, Robert, and daughter, Athena, asked that the presentation be part of the funeral. I had the honor of making the presentation as part of the funeral proceeding. The family sincerely appreciated the recognition and numerous current and former AUSA’s who were present, thought it was a nice honor that NAFUSA and DOJ bestows on deceased U.S. Attorneys.

Former United States Attorney George McClintock Anderson, who served in the Eastern District of North Carolina in the Carter Administration (1977-1981), passed away (peacefully) Thursday, February 14th at age 92. Read the full obituary which describes him as “one of Raleigh’s most colorful and affable attorneys.”   Anderson’s legal and political career, his service to his community and his service to his church spanned sixty active years. NAFUSA will ask the Department of Justice to fly an American Flag  over Main Justice and it will be presented to his family as an expression of regard from his former colleagues.

Judge William T. “Bill” McGivern, Jr., who served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California from 1990-1992, passed away on February 19, 2012. He was 72 and died after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. McGivern worked in the U.S. Attorney’s office from 1973 to 1992. He served as the Chief Assistant to NAFUSA member Joe Russoniello before succeeding him as the U.S. Attorney. He later served as a judge on the Marin County Superior Court.

McGivern is survived by his wife Sally and his children: Marty Schein; Bill III; and Dan. After completing a career as a United States Naval officer, McGivern graduated from the University of San Francisoco Law School and obtained his LLM at Georgetown University.  Click here to view the full obituary from The San Francisco Chronicle. NAFUSA arranged to have an American flag flown over the Department of Justice on February 28, 2012, in honor of Bill and sent to the family in his rememberance.

NAFUSA recently learned that H.M. Ray, who served 20 years as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi, passed away on May 18, 2011 at the age of 86. Ray, who was nominated by John F. Kennedy in 1961, died at his home in Tupelo, Mississippi. He served under two additional Democratic administrations and two Republicans until he resigned in 1981. Ray served as chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (AGAC) 1976-77. He was a long time member of NAFUSA.

Ray served in the Army Air Corps, where he flew bombing missions in World War II. He earned his law degree at the University of Mississippi and served as a state representative from 1948 to 1951. He resumed his military service as an intelligence officer in the Air Force during the Korean War.

His survivors include sons Howard Manfred Ray of Skokie, Ill., and Mark Andrew Ray of Tupelo.

Chuck Graves, who served as Executive Director of NAFUSA 1998-2000, and as President of NAFUSA 1999-2000, passed away August 22, 2011, in Billings, Montanta. He was 80 years old at the time of his death. He was appointed by President Jimmy Carter as the United States Attorney for the District of Wyoming, and served from 1977-1981.

Graves received his law degree from the University of Colorado. He had a successful law practice in Cheyenne, Wyoming for many years. He is survived by his wife, Halene, as well as five children and several grandchildren and great grandchildren.

NAFUSA presented Halene with an American flag with the following inscription: Flown over the U.S. Department of Justice on November 15, 2011 in honor of Charles E. Graves, U.S. Attorney for the District of Wyoming (1977-1980).