The Rev. Dr. O. Gerald Trigg

The Rev. Dr. O. Gerald Trigg, 81, died Friday, May 15, 2015, under hospice care at Darlington Oaks. He was born in Clara, Mississippi, near Quitman, to the late O.K. and Cassie Evans Trigg. He was a graduate of Millsaps College, where he and his future wife, Rose Cunningham, were partners on an award-winning debate team. They were married in 1957 after Jerry's graduation from Vanderbilt School of Divinity, and continued their life as partners in ministry at Caswell Springs United Methodist Church, near Moss Point. During the difficult years of racial unrest in the early 60's, Jerry and twenty-seven other young Methodist ministers signed a statement, "Born of Conviction," which resulted in most of them being told to find churches out-of-state. The Triggs received an invitation to move to Indiana, where Jerry served churches in Indianapolis, Clarksville, and Greencastle at Depauw University, before being asked to accept an appointment to the First United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. There he served with distinction for the next twenty-two years, before retiring for health reasons in 2002. While in Colorado Jerry continued to be active in issues of social justice and to participate widely in the life of the city, of his church and of the faith community. He was honored with the Dove of Peace award from the Center for Christian Jewish Dialogue, as Outstanding Religious Leader from the NAACP, and as Outstanding in Community Service from the Urban League. He was always a voice for the voiceless and an advocate for minorities, victims of racial injustice and the poverty-stricken. In 1999, he received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from DePauw University. Survivors include his wife, Rose Cunningham Trigg, now a resident in a Traceway cottage in Tupelo; son Mark Trigg of Atlanta; daughter Lori Greer of Tupelo; four grandchildren; one great-grandson; a brother Don Trigg of Gautier, MS