Monroe County school board chairman dies

Longtime Forsyth physician and Monroe County Board of Education Chairman Dr. J. Ray Grant Jr. died Monday morning.

Grant had served on the school board for 23 years and was elected its chairman in 2007. He was 65, coroner Joey Proctor said.

Grant, also a past chairman of the county health board, had been practicing family medicine in Forsyth since 1980. He was the son of late Monroe County Sheriff J. Ray Grant Sr.

Grant’s “heart for education was evident in all he did,” Jackson Daniel, assistant school superintendent, wrote in a news release.

“Words cannot express the sorrow felt throughout the school family, but also the gratitude felt for the leadership and vision he has given the school system over the years,” Daniel said. “We ask for prayers for Dr. Grant's family, for the Monroe County Schools' family, and for our community.”

Proctor said Grant died from an apparent suicide in a hay barn not far from his home on Dumas Road.

This story was originally published March 13, 2017 at 1:56 PM with the headline "Monroe County school board chairman dies."