By HDN Staff
CHESTER Richard Allen Ray, 69, Chester, died Monday, April 17, 2000 at a Chester hospital from the effects of a brain tumor.
Funeral service will be 10 a.m. Friday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Chester. Burial will follow in the Chester Cemetery.
Ray was born on April 25, 1930 in Great Falls and lived at St. Thomas Orphanage until he was 5, when he was adopted by True and Louise Ray.
Ray was raised on the family farm the Rays homesteaded south of Tiber. He attended country school, then graduated from Chester High School in 1948.
After his parents' divorce, Ray lived with his mother and helped with the farming operations. After graduation, he continued his education at MSU in Bozeman, but was forced to drop out after two quarters because of the demands of the farm. Ray and his mother acquired two more farms, both south of Rudyard, and worked them for 10 years before selling both.
Ray also worked one spring for the John Deere dealership in Chester and helped in the tunneling project when Tiber Dam was constructed.
Ray and his mother began wintering in Arizona in 1954. He eventually bought a winter home at Squaw Peak, where he enjoyed playing tennis and golf. In 1978, he met and married Nancy Livezey Ashley in Phoenix.
Ray was baptized Catholic and served as an altar boy at St. Mary's Church in Chester. He remained a member of the church and was active in the Knights of Columbus.
During his high school years, Ray played piano and clarinet, enjoyed basketball, horses and dogs. As an adult, he hunted, snowmobiled, played horseshoes, and bowled. He liked watching golf on TV and following the stock market. He belonged to several clubs and organizations over the years, most recently the local archery club.
Ray was preceded in death by his parents.
Survivors include his wife, Nancy, of Chester; son, Christopher, a student at MSU in Bozeman; daughter, Mindi Anderson of North Richland Hills, Texas; brother, Douglas "Gene" Ray of Corning, N.Y.; mother-in-law, Winnie Livezey, of Phoenix; one grandson and one step-granddaughter.
Memorials are suggested to the Hi-Line Health Foundation or donor's choice.
Arrangements are by Rockman Funeral Chapel. Chapel.
