Obituary of Ralph Clyde Ray

Ralph Clyde Ray, Sr., 79, of Akron, quietly passed away after a long and happy life full of love and abundant laughter on Friday, October 24, 2008. Ralph was born on April 9, 1929 in Swords Creek, Virginia. He moved to Akron with his parents when he was 5, and graduated from Akron Garfield High School where he played on the 1946 City Championship football team. He served in the U.S. Army Airborne during the Korean War, and was stationed in Fort Lee, Virginia. He transferred to the quartermaster depot in Jeffersonville, Indiana where he test jumped parachutes. It was there that he met Carol, the woman he would soon marry, and spend the next 56 years of his life with. Although he spent his career as a salesman, his heart and energy was always focused on his raising his four children and his wife. Ralph was a member of the Akron Masonic Temple for more than 50 years. He spent his life surrounded by his friends and family, and will be missed by many. Ralph was known for his sharp wit and sense of humor, and always had a joke to tell his friends. He was preceded in death by his parents Henry Stewart and Martha Jane (nee Dye), and his niece Donna Marie Ray. He is survived by his wife Carol Ann (nee Reynolds), his son Ralph C. Ray, Jr., and his wife Louise of Cambridge, OH; daughter Gail Lynne Kamlowsky and husband Paul of Tallmadge, OH; son David S. Ray of Washington, D.C., son Daniel W. Ray and his wife Cheryl of Tallmadge, OH; and grandchildren Emma Ray, Michael Kamlowsky, Daniel W. Ray, Jr., Logan Ray and Lindsey Ray; and his brother Henry S. Ray and wife Marian of Bradenton, FL. The family will receive friends Wednesday 3-5 p.m. at the Anthony Funeral Home Kucko-Anthony-Kertesz Chapel, 1990 S. Main St., where a memorial service will be held Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. A reception will be held in the funeral home's community room following the service. (Anthony Funeral Home Kucko-Anthony-Kertesz Chapel, 330-724-1281, www.kakfh.com)