Pastor Bob Gratez and his wife Jeannie were courageous leaders. He was the only white minister in Montgomery to support the bus boycott. Their house was bombed. Rosa Parks came over to help them clear the rubble. They lived through multiple death threats. He stood for something. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiuyZ-Ao_nrAhUFi6wKHWi8D9cQFjACegQIAxAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2018%2F08%2F17%2Fus%2Frosa-parks-kkk-montgomery.html&usg=AOvVaw24yU8icywI2TE0K8AQprpZ

Last year, a small group of us from Houston visited Bob and his wife Jeannie, after walking the Edmund Pettus Bridge together and visiting the civil rights/lynching museum. They were gracious hosts. Jeannie still volunteers, teaches and speaks, while caring for him around the clock. Below is a picture of Bob with Dr. King, and our visit.

Graetz was a graduate of Capital University and Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio (formerly ELTS). Graetz is survived by his wife Jeannie, as well as seven children, 27 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/09/21/robert-graetz-dies-white-minister-who-helped-organize-montgomery-bus-boycott-obituary/2054186002/

Pastor Bob Graetz with Dr. King
Bob and Jeannie Graetz, Pastor Anthony and Kim Chatman (Hosanna Houston)
Bob and Jeannie Graetz, Pastor Harvey Clemons (Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, Houston) and Kim Chatman
Graetz discussing the bus boycott in 1956 with Ralph Abernathy and others (AP photo)