Robert "Red" Ray of Cookeville passed away on Friday, September 2, 2022 at Charter Senior Living.
Red was born in Livingston, Tennessee, on February 18, 1927, to the late Burris Eulon and Melinda Jane Savage Ray. He was the fourth of seven children (6 boys and 1 girl). His family were sharecroppers on several farms in Overton County while he was growing up (including land that is now partly covered by the lake at Standing Stone State Park). He quit school after the 8th grade to help his family but later earned his GED degree and high school diploma. He enlisted in the Navy when we was 17-years-old, serving in the Asia Pacific war zone and was on the USS Colorado in Tokyo Bay when the peace treaty was signed. He received a hardship discharge to return home to help support his family. He studied for a year at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville but left to re-enlist in the Navy after the outbreak of the Korean War. After the end of the war, he moved to Anderson, IN, to find work in the auto factories there. It was in the cafeteria in one of those factories that he met, Bonnie Jean Womack, who he later married. He eventually found work as an industrial electrician at Guide Lamp, a division of General Motors. He became active in the United Auto Workers Local 663 including a time as the President of the Skilled Trades chapter. He retired in 1993 and he and Bonnie moved to back to TN (Cookeville). He was a devout Christian. He was a long-time member of Bethany Christian Church in Anderson and later of First Christian Church in Cookeville.
He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Bonnie Jean Ray, 3 Children, Morris Eurick, Becky Lane and her husband, Steve, and David Ray and his wife Gail; 7 Grandchildren, 3 Great-Grandchildren, Brother, Terry Ray, and Sister, Sue Smith.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by brothers Wilbur, Fred, Clifford and Charlie Ray.
Funeral Service for Robert "Red" Gaskell Ray will be held Wednesday, September 7, 2022 at 1:00 pm from the chapel of Crest Lawn Funeral Home with Pastor Brad Windlan officiating. Interment will follow in the Crest Lawn Memorial Cemetery.
Visitation with the family will be held Wednesday, September 7, 2022, from 12:00 pm until the time of service at 1:00 pm at Crest Lawn Funeral Home.
To sign the online guestbook and to send the family a message please visit www.crestlawnmemorial.com
Arrangements entrusted to Crest Lawn Funeral Home.