LINES FROM LINDA: REMEMBERING JOSEPH E. GREGORY
Proud father Joe Gregory surrounded by his daughter, Evalyn, and son, Joseph - February 2016. photo courtesy of NorCal Bulldogger
Great Genes... Father and Son having fun at The Garden.
of conversation when Joe took his son, Joseph, and me out for din- ner in New York a few years ago. Oh, what fun we had laughing that night! Gregory’s marriage to Mamie Spears Reynolds, whose mother once owned the Hope Diamond, produced two amazing children, Joseph and Evalyn. The couple’s varied interests took them around the world. Joseph, called “Joey” to many of us who have known him all his life, is the President and Founder of the Hope Diamond Collection where, in 1999, he launched a global fragrance called FABLE. Joseph is a noted author and publisher of two books, The Hope Diamond and Queen of Diamonds . He is a noted historian and designer, and a highly sought-after motivational speaker. His works are in the Library of Congress. Presently, he and his partner, Charles Rapp, reside in Nashville, Tennessee, where Joseph is also an image consultant to the music industry. Evalyn grew up travelling with her parents to dog shows when they exhibited. At age ten, she began showing. With her mother, she co-owned a Brussels Griffon that still holds the title as top- winning smooth-coated Brussel Griffon of all time; with Evalyn on the other end of the leash. Fast forward… Evalyn is currently a favorite among judges at highly esteemed dog shows, including Morris & Essex, Westminster, The Kennel Club of Philadelphia, and so many, many others. Her father beamed with pride when he was able to watch his beautiful young daughter following in his footsteps as a judge. A primary passion of Joe’s was basketball. Joe and Mamie were the first owners of the ABA Kentucky Colonels in the late 1960s. My family’s courtside seats in the Atlanta Omni for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks games were right beside the Gregorys. JOSEPH E. GREGORY led an enviable life doing the things he loved most and sharing them with his wife, Mamie, and his two very successful children, Joseph and Evalyn. His legacy will live on through them. Joe has made a positive impact on the sport of purebred dogs and he will be immensely missed. His dynamic personality will remain in the hearts of those who loved him forever.
Smiles say it all; I snapped this photo of Joe and Evalyn in Louisville a few years ago.
Back in the day, when I was a very young junior showing our family’s Conrad Collies and traveling to dog shows with my par- ents, Roy and Hazel Ayers, Daddy would set up next to the young, professional handlers, Joe Gregory and Burr Long. That made me very happy. Those days have been the topics of conversation among old-timers for decades. I will always remember having lunch with Clint Harris, Col. Wally Pede, and Joe when the subject came up about me as a young- ster. I thought Joe was so handsome, and I compared him to the movie star, Cary Grant; a heartthrob in those days. At that time, Dog News was a very thin red and white magazine. The advertise- ments were perhaps 1" by 2" and, of course, everything was black and white. There were stacks of them in our attic. I would go up there and cut out tiny photos of young handler Joe Gregory and put them in my little red wallet, also filled with pictures of my family and grammar school classmates. That tale was also a topic
94 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, FEBRUARY 2022
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