John Ray's Obituary
John Ray was born in Huntington, WV on Dec. 2, 1942, died at home on Aug 25, 2021 after long battles with numerous ailments. He was preceded in death by his wife of 54 years, Linda in July 2017.
After graduating from Barber School he moved to the suburbs of Washington DC in 1962, worked in a civilian shop before moving on to manage the Barber Shop at Cameroon Station. He was a Corrections Officer at Lorton Reformatory and nearly froze his ear off during the blizzard of ’66. Later he accepted a job at the Office of Personnel Management as a claims examiner before finally retiring 30 years later in 1997 as the Chief of the Quality Assurance Division.
After retiring he and his wife, Linda, spent the next 2.5 years touring North America with a travel trailer in tow. They finally returned to Loudoun County to be with friends and family. He was loved by his son (Ron) and 2 grandchildren (TJ and Kayleigh). In his own words “He was well liked by many, loved by a few, no one should ask for more.” He was active until the last few weeks of life. He enjoyed traveling, fishing, golfing, any event with his grandchildren and even a little gambling. His favorite saying of “This is not the worst thing that will ever happen to you.”, may have finally been proven wrong with his death.
Private services were held at the Loudoun Funeral Chapel and Crematory in Leesburg, VA.
Dad, you have been gone for a year now but you will never be forgotten. You viewed your father (Russell) as a mentor/role model and you filled the same role for me. If I am lucky, my son will see me as the same but we can give that a few more years. Hopefully, we can go fishing or play a round of golf in the next life. Rest in Peace.
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