Grayson, James McDonald
James McDonald Grayson, 94, of Blacksburg, Virginia, died at home on Thursday, March 6, 2008, of cancer.
Born August 6, 1913, in Bland County, Virginia, he was the son of the late James McNutt Grayson and Ida Newberry Grayson. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Janet Margaret Grayson Cofer, and his two sisters, Kathryn Grayson Nisbeth and Dorothy Grayson Jordan.
Dr. Grayson earned his bachelor and master of science degrees from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1935 and 1937 and his Ph.D. in entomology from Iowa State University in 1941. He spent his entire 42-year academic career at Virginia Tech. In 1959 he was instrumental in establishing the Department of Entomology (formerly a division of Biology) and served for 20 years at its first chair. During this period, the department was twice recognized nationally by the American Council on Education for the excellence of its graduate programs.
A pioneer in research on insect resistance to insecticides, Dr. Grayson established one of the most respected cockroach research programs in the world. In 1957 he was invited to speak at the International Congress of Plant Protection in Hamburg, Germany, and in 1958 at a seminar on insect resistance sponsored by the World Health Organization in Panama City, Panama. By appointment of the Secretary of Agriculture, he served for seven years on the Plant Science and Entomology Advisory Committee of the USDA.
He served the Entomological Society of America (ESA) in numerous capacities, including terms as president of its Eastern Branch and national chair of the Council of Entomology Department Administrators. In 1975 the ESA awarded him its prestigious L. O. Howard Award for Distinguished Achievement and seven years later granted him honorary membership, the highest honor the Society bestows. In addition, he was a member of the American Institute of Biological Sciences, the Virginia Academy of Science, and various honor societies including Phi Kappa Phi and Sigma Xi.
In 1986, on the 100th anniversary of the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, Dr. Grayson was presented with a special citation for leadership, which read in part: “For more years than many of us have been around, this gentle man of action has been giving to Virginia Tech, its students, its programs, and to the industry of agriculture.”
Dr. Grayson is survived by his beloved wife of 62 years, Margaret Lawrence Grayson; and three daughters, Nancy L. Grayson and husband, Curt Harvey, of Athens, Ga., Elizabeth A. Grayson and husband, John Wilshear, of Atlanta, Ga., and Mary Grayson Segars and husband, Al, of Beaufort, S.C.; five grandsons, Eric Grayson Holmes, James Franklin Cofer, Albert Lucas Segars III, James McDonald Segars and Grayson Kent Segars.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Monday, March 10, at the Blacksburg Presbyterian Church (corner of Church and Eakin streets), where Dr. Grayson was a longtime member. A reception will follow the service in the Fellowship Hall of the church.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Grayson Scholarship, c/o the Department of Entomology, 216 Price Hall, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va. 24061, or to the New River Land Trust, P. O. Box 11057, Blacksburg, Va. 24062. Arrangements by McCoy Funeral Home, Blacksburg.