Officials with Parker-Reedy Funeral Home in West Frankfort said Sunday that Gray died late Saturday at a hospital in Herrin after a long illness.
Gray was elected to Congress in 1954 and served ten terms. He returned to Congress in 1984 to serve two terms. Gray was a colorful figure during his time in Washington, and the Democrat was known for bringing about $7 billion in federal projects to his district. Those projects included a prison, an interstate highway, post offices and hospitals.
In 2008 a portion of Interstate 57 in southern Illinois was named after Gray, who helped write the Interstate Highway Act of 1956.
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