AFS Board Member Jerrilyn McGregory Passes Away
AFS is deeply saddened to share the news of folklorist and member of the AFS Executive Board Dr. Jerrilyn McGregory’s sudden passing on Sunday, August 3, 2025.
Dr. Jerrilyn McGregory was Emerita Professor in the Department of English at Florida State University. She obtained her Ph.D. in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania.
Jerrilyn served almost her full 2023–25 term on the AFS Executive Board, and was an early member of the Cultural Diversity Committee and the Association of African and African American Folklorists. Her book One Grand Noise: Boxing Day in the Anglicized Caribbean World won the 2022 Chicago Folklore Prize.
She will be greatly missed by AFS and the wider folklore community for her scholarship and service.
Read more about Jerrilyn’s life and work on her obituary in Tallahassee Democrat.
Update on 8/21/2025:
A celebration of life for Jerrilyn will happen on Sunday, August 31, 2025 at Bricks & Brass in Tallahassee, FL. Please arrive at 11 am. Program will begin at 11:30am and be streamed on Jerrilyn’s Facebook page.
The family asks for the community of friends and family to post photos of Jerrilyn to this link.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Epilepsy Foundation and Butterfly World.
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