Tennessee Representative David Kustoff (R-TN-08) and the United States Postal Service (USPS) hosted a ceremony Tuesday to rename the Henning Post Office building located at 415 N Main St. in honor of Paula Croom Robinson and Judy Spray.
The post office’s new name is “Paula Croom Robinson and Judy Spray Memorial Post Office Building.”
On October 18, 2010, Robinson and Spray were murdered during an attempted robbery at the Henning Post Office.
The women were working at the time when Chastain Montgomery Sr. and his 18-year-old son Chastain Montgomery Jr. entered the post office and demanded money. When they found out that the post office only had $63, the two men fatally shot the two women before leaving.
Chastain Montgomery Jr. was killed in a shoot-out with police in February 2011. Meanwhile, Chastain Montgomery Sr. is serving a life sentence in prison after pleading guilty to the shooting deaths of the two women.
Kustoff led the bill in Congress to rename the building the “Paula Croom Robinson and Judy Spray Memorial Post Office Building.” On September 30, 2020, the bill passed the United States House of Representatives unanimously, with no opposition. On December 3, 2020, it unanimously passed the United States Senate and was signed into law by President Donald Trump on December 21, 2020.
“By renaming the Henning Post Office and unveiling the plaque here today in these women’s honor, we will remember their lives and their strong dedication to the community and state they loved and called home,” said Kustoff. “I am grateful and deeply honored for the opportunity to recognize and honor Paula Croom Robinson, Judy Spray, and their families and loved ones with this legislation. Our community in West Tennessee will never forget these two women who dedicated their lives to public service.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “David Kustoff at Post Office Ceremony” by David Kustoff.
