Charles Ray

Mr. Ray left us to go to a better place. He was preceded by his parents, Elmer and Alma Ray, of Atco, GA; and also by his son, Gregory Ray, of Cartersville, GA.



Mr. Ray is survived by his wife of 64 years, Christine; his daughters Lynnda Ray and Cynthia Wheeler and her husband Michael Wheeler; his brother Jack Ray of Cartersville, and sister Laura Ann Perinod and her husband Bob Perinod of Valdosta, Georgia. Mr. Ray also leaves behind his grandchildren Shaun Childers, Brandy Farmer, Jenna Ray, Christopher McClure, Timothy Ray and Torin Mariani; as well as six great- grandchildren and many cousins, nieces and nephews.



Mr. Ray was born at his parents home in Cartersville and for the most part grew up in the village of Atco, GA. He learned to play baseball at an early age from the great Rudy York and began working at the Goodyear mill even before he graduated from school. He met his wife while selling insurance door-to-door in the village, they fell in love and married soon there after, just a week before she turned 17. The early years of their marriage were spent working hard and, when there was time, enjoying his favorite pass time, fishing. This continued through out his lifetime.



Not knowing where this journey would lead, Mr. Ray took a job with IBM in 1958 and moved to Battle Creek, Michigan where he worked at Fort Custer AFB. While in Michigan Mr. Ray welcomed his two daughters into his life. Then in 1963 Mr. Ray and his growing family were transferred, for a brief time to the Manned Space Craft Center in Houston, Texas. Then in 1964 once again found themselves transferred to the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. While there, a son was added to the family.



In the midst of the 'race to space', Mr. Ray was yet again transferred, this time to the Kennedy Space Center in Titusville, Florida where he had the privilege to work on the Apollo Space Projects which included the moon landings of Apollo 11, 12 and 14; the near tragedy of Apollo 13; and the Skylab project. As the Apollo projects wound down, Mr. Ray was offered one final transfer, to Atlanta, Georgia. So in 1975, Mr. Ray returned home to Georgia where he retired in 1985 due to heart problems. Not long after that his journey came full circle when he and his wife moved back to Cartersville where there life together first began.



For many years to come Mr. and Mrs. Ray spent their summers in Georgia and their winters in Florida where Mr. Ray enjoyed fishing every day in the company of an egret they nicknamed 'Charlie', but that's another story. After the loss of his son, Mr. Ray came to know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, and was baptized at the age of 80 at Pine Grove Baptist Church in Cartersville. Even after having to move to Maple Ridge Nursing Home, Mr. Ray continued to be an inspiration to his fellow church members by faithfully going to church on Sunday morning until his body would no longer allow.

Mr. Ray finally succumbed to congestive heart failure after a long, brave struggle. He will be greatly missed by all of those who were blessed to have known him, but he has done the Lord's work and is now at home with his Heavenly Father.



Funeral services will be conducted at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, May 20, 2012 at Pine Grove Baptist Church with Rev. Clinton Green and Brother Blake Dodd officiating. Interment will follow in Sunset Memory Gardens. Mr. Ray will be taken to the church on Sunday to lie-in-state for one hour prior to the service.



The family will receive friends from 2 � 4 p.m. and 6 � 8 p.m., Saturday at Parnick Jennings Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 430 Cassville Road, Cartersville.



In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to the Pine Grove Baptist Church Building Fund, 93 Pine Grove Road, Cartersville, Ga. 30120.