Funeral for Father Crayton T. Dudley Today

Funeral services are 11 a.m. today at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 306 Peyton Rd., for Father Crayton T. Dudley who died Thursday, Dec. 1.

Dudley was born February 23, 1928, to Inell Long and Jack Dudley, in Atlanta. At an early age he joined the Beulah Baptist Church in the Edgewood community. He attended Wesley Avenue Elementary School, David T. Howard Junior High and Booker T. Washington High and graduated in 1945.

He entered Morehouse College for one year before being drafted in the Army in 1946.  He was honorably discharged March 1947 and was unable to get back into Morehouse until 1948. Clark College had some vacancies and he graduated from Clark in 1950. He married Allegra Lewis shortly after graduation on October 9, 1952.

He held advance degrees from Gammon Theological Seminary, the Interdenominational Theological Center, American University, Washington in Archival Training, and Library training, Union Theological Seminary and the University of Pittsburgh. He was director of Religion and Philosophy at Enoch Pratt Free Public Library and Associate Directory, Coppin State College, Baltimore. He was on the staff of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Seminary, Baltimore. He also served on the staff of the St. James Episcopal Church for nine years.

In 1974, Father Dudley was called to Holy Trinity in Nashville and was given permission to serve on the staff at Tennessee State University as Assistant Director of the Library. He served parishes in St. Petersburg, Fl., and in Bridgeport, Conn., at one of the largest black Episcopal churches at the time.

Father Dudley retired in 1993 and returned to Atlanta where he has been a faithful servant at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

Father Dudley leaves a devoted wife of 59 years, Allegra; daughter Karen, and son Angus (Barbara) and two grandsons, Sterling and Courtland, niece, Vannesa Williams, aunts, Dorris Williams and Mattie Brooks, and many other relatives and friends.

For more information about today's services, call the church at 404-696-3620.