Lee Eugene Ray
Posted By Ballard Sunder Funeral Home On January 22, 2022 @ 3:36 pm In 2022,Obituaries | 12 Comments
Lee Eugene Ray, age 75, of Prior Lake, MN, passed away peacefully on January 20, 2022. A Celebration of Life service will be held for Lee at 2:00 PM on Saturday, February 5, 2022 at Friendship Church, Shakopee Campus, 12800 Marystown Rd, Shakopee, MN 55379, with Pastor Kenny White presiding. Visitation will be held prior to services from 12:00 – 2:00 PM.
Lee, his parents, Eugene and Shirley Ray, and four younger siblings, grew up on a farm in Newton, Iowa. Living on a farm instilled a tremendous work ethic that persisted throughout his entire life.
To say Lee loved sports is an understatement! In high school, he loved being in the gym or on the track field. He participated in many sports in high school and graduated in 1964.
Lee was raised by Christian parents and was encouraged to attend Bethany College where he met and married Carolyn Ann Madison in 1967. Lee pursued additional education at St. Paul Bible College for two years. As part of his education at St. Paul Bible, he ministered at Lutheran Brotherhood Church in Menomonie, WI. While attending college, Lee worked at Red Owl grocery stores. He eventually started working there full-time and became a manager at two different stores. In 1970 their first son, Jeff was born and in 1972 their second son, Kevin was born.
In 1975, the Lord called Lee, Carolyn, and their two boys, Jeff and Kevin, to Winthrop, Maine where they ministered at a home for troubled boys. Their third son David was born there in 1978. For four years, Lee worked with the boys and helped with the farm. While working on the farm, Lee became a licensed orchardist and helped to revive the unattended apple orchard. He loved this work. After four years, the state closed the home for boys. The Maine property was owned by Bethany Fellowship, and they offered to move the family back to Bethany in Bloomington, Minnesota. Lee worked in management positions in various departments including manufacturing and selling trailers and appliances. His longest supervision was in the cleaning and security at the BCOM campus. During this time, Lee once again worked with the youth in the Boys Club. He became involved with umpiring and refereeing part-time and at one point held it as his full-time job. He was the Umpire Chief for the City of Eden Prairie for many years.
The time that he valued and cherished most was with his family. Lee looked forward to getting together after church on Sundays for KFC with the family. Lee will be remembered as someone who could mix his work with fun and good times, someone who always had a big smile for those he met. He was a happy, generous man that was loved and respected by many.
Forever loved, Lee will be missed by his loving wife, Carolyn; sons, Jeffrey (JayAnn) Ray and their daughters, Karlie (Cole) Neubert, Kensie Ray, and Brynna Ray, Kevin (Alicia) Ray and their daughters, Victoria, Nicole, and Daniella, and David (Amanda) Ray and their children, Anastasia, Alexander, and Adilynn; siblings, Larry Ray, Leslie (Kay) Ray, Beverly (Timothy) Wright, Bryce (Charlotte) Ray; and other loving relatives and devoted friends.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Eugene and Shirley (Fenner) Ray.
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Thank you so much for your thoughts and memories. We really appreciate it.
Lee will be missed. I enjoyed playing basketball in the barn with him. He would often come over to the Dugan house to play Rook. He was always a good opponent and you could count on him to over bid. We played softball together for many years. I always enjoyed his competitive spirit. It wasn’t too long ago that I heard he was in the hospital. I went in to visit him and he said he didn’t know why he was there. I have some games to officiate so I hope I get out of here quick. He was expecting to work that night. I went in to visit him a couple other times but did not always connect because he was getting treatment.
Thank you so much for sharing and your friendship and visits to Lee. This warms our hearts.
Dear Carolyn and family,
Nan and I were deeply saddened to hear of Lee’s passing. Except for when his mom passed, we have not had much contact with him, but my childhood memories are still precious. Whether it was making hay at Grandpa Fenner’s farm or playing ball after a Sunday noon picnic, we shared many happy hours playing and working together. He was a fun-loving individual which added a lot to our family gatherings. I can certainly attest to his love for sports. We remember being able to stay with Lee and Carolyn when we brought our son, Joel, to college in Minneapolis back in 1995. We sorrow in his death, but rejoice in the fact that he is home with the Lord, and his loving parents and grandparents. As Psalm 116:15 says, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. He will truly be missed. You are all in our thoughts and prayers. God bless you all
Thank you for those precious memories! It really is appreciated.
Bob Schutte
I have so many fond childhood memories with Lee. He and I enjoyed several years as the only grandchilren on the Fenner side of the family. We benefited greatly from much attention and special attention on birthdays and Christmas. A couple of examples was ponys and bicycles. I regret that distance afforded us little opportunity to spend much quality time together as adults, but the memories persist. To Caroly and kids: I am always at a loss for words in such a time as this except to say that I am so sorry.
Your sharing these memories really does touch our hearts. Thank you so very much.
It is difficult to express my deep sadness at the passing of my brother Lee. He probably wrote the book on how to be the best big brother ever.
When I think about Lee growing up one of my first thoughts is of our barnyard baseball games. Lee pitching with Les and Larry batting and Bryce and I in the outfield or running bases. I think of Lee milking cows and listening to the ball games on the radio at the same time, sometimes leaving the milker on the cow too long.
He sat next to me on my right every meal and anything I didn’t want to eat I would sneak over to him and he would eat it. Now that’s a wonderful big brother.
His example of following Jesus through his teen years was a real blessing on my young life probably more than I realize. And his desire to serve Jesus was impactful and influenced my life greatly.
He was also a wonderful son to our Dad and Mom. They loved him so very much and I know he loved them too by his obedience to them and all those trips from Minneapolis to Newton Iowa. I remember when Jeff was just a few days old Lee and Carolyn were so excited to show Mom and Dad their first grandchild they bundled him up and headed for Newton.
Besides being a great big brother Lee was a wonderful person. I am thankful he was part of our family and we have so many good memories. Our love and prayers to Carolyn and family.
Thank you Auntie for sharing all of these special moments in both your lives. They brought a smile to our faces and warmed our hearts. We love you!
We all loved Lee: He was a great son, he was a great big brother, he was a great uncle, he was a great cousin, he was a great husband, he was a great father, he was a great grandpa, and he a man that loved Jesus. We will all miss him. We love you and your family! Les and Kay
My condolences to Carolyn and family. Have many happy memories of college days with Lee and Carolyn. I will treasure them til we meet again.
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Caroline, boys and families,
So sorry to hear about Lee. My husband (Jeff) did some BB ref’ing with Lee in EP several years back. I, of course, have the fondest memories of Lee umping my softball games as a player at Bethany Academy. My thoughts are with all of you as you adjust to this change. Lee was a wonderful person.
Tracey Herrig (Seminari)