Laura Ray

Waynesville, Laura Mae Clauson Ray, age 83, passed away on Thursday, April 21, 2011. Laura Mae was born in Oak Park, Illinois on July 11, 1927. After her natural father, Stanley Bayers, passed away in 1930, she, her mother, and her brother Curtis, moved to St. Petersburg, Florida where she and Curtis attended school. In 1933, her mother, Hazel, married Eric Clauson. Having vacationed in Waynesville for a few years, the family built a summer vacation home there in 1946. Laura Mae married William Shelton Ray in the fall of 1946. They had four children, which led to three years of Cub Scout leadership and twenty years of service in the Girl Scout Association. She was the owner of Soco Crafts and Tower in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. She recently retired as secretary of the Waynesville Golf Club after serving eighteen years on the Board of Directors. Surviving are four children: Sharon Louise Ray of Silver Spring, Maryland; William Shelton Ray, Jr. and his wife, Deborah, of Waynesville; James Eric Ray and his wife, Katie, of Waynesville; Suzanne Sutherland Ray Wiggins and her husband, Dale, of Robbinsville, North Carolina. She is also survived by two granddaughters, Danielle Ray Treadway and her husband, Shane, and Cristie Nicole Ray, all of Waynesville; one great granddaughter, Jessa Elizabeth Treadway; one sister-in-law, Marjorie Clauson of Santa Rosa, Florida; two nieces and six nephews. A memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, April 25, 2011 in the Waynesville Chapel of Wells Funeral Home with Reverend Sanford L. Giles officiating. Inurnment will be private at Green Hill Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 1:30 until 3:00 p.m. prior to services at the funeral home. Laura Mae had a great love for her family and a passion for friends and life itself. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Haywood Regional Medical Center Hospice, 560 Leroy George Drive, Clyde, NC 28721.

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