We share this story in memory of Sergeant Jimmy Gray, who passed away July 28, 2022.

For over 11 years, Jimmy Gray has worked as a correctional officer at the North Central Correctional Complex in Marion, OH.

“It’s a great place [to work] because you’re helping someone. I’ve been military, I have been helping people all my life, so I have joy in doing that.”

Throughout his time at North Central, Jimmy has developed strong relationships with his co-workers, which makes coming to work fun.

“We are a big family. I mean, we cry, we laugh, we play. It’s just a big family.”

Jimmy finds joy in helping others and works hard to inspire residents to make positive changes in their lives.

“I try to give them a sense that this just is a stepping stone. Yeah, they have done something bad, but it’s not the end-all. They can rebound from it and become a better [person] in society to help someone and to nurture young men and women that are going down that bad path and say, ‘This is not the place to be.’”

While the job has its difficulties, Jimmy finds it very rewarding.

“Seeing the inmates released and then you see them out there in the streets or in your neighborhood and they say, ‘Thank you.’ That you have been a positive role model for them while they were incarcerated.”