Patsy Ray (Pat) passed away peacefully on April 20, 2019. Patsy was born in Howe, Oklahoma in 1930 to Porter McKay and Edna Scott McKay. She lived in the south before moving to Yakima where she met her husband Allen Ray at a dance at Playland. They married in 1948 and raised four children.
She was preceded in death by husband Allen in 2005 and son Douglas Ray in 2010, as well as sisters Tommy Beauchene and Wanda Wilson. She is survived by children Wayne Ray (Janine) of Durham, North Carolina, Carol Faith of San Diego, California, and Eileen Ray (David Fortin) of Zillah, Washington, plus seven grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.
Patsy’s interesting life included working as a florist at Kameo Flower Shop, and later as a computer lab supervisor for the Wapato School District. In the early years of her marriage they lived in the Columbia Basin, Oregon and California. In 1961 they returned to the Yakima Valley where she lived for the rest of her life. She had a passion for gardening, loved to read and was a genuine people person, more interested in others than in herself. Grandma Pat opened her home and her heart to her grandchildren and is remembered with great fondness as “the world’s best Grandma.”
A Celebration of Patsy’s Life will be held in the Gardenview Room, Jewitt Center, at the Yakima Arboretum on Thursday, April 25 at 11 am, followed by a light lunch. The family extends a very special thank you to the devoted and caring staff of Englewood Heights who provided wonderful care and friendship during her four and one half years of residence!
In lieu of flowers, please consider memorial contributions to the Yakima Greenway, www.yakimagreenway.org.