Raymond Leonard Anderson

December 12, 1925 -- November 8, 2021

Raymond Leonard Anderson of Greensboro went home to be with his Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, on Monday, November 8. He was 95 years old.

Ray was born the son of Charles Bryan Anderson and Myrtle Sexton Anderson on December 12, 1925 on the Ames Plantation in Grand Junction, Tennessee where he learned to work hard with his family raising cattle. After graduation from high school, he became an aviation cadet in the reserve Army Air Corps for 16 months during World War II, achieving pilot qualifications. The war ended before his training was completed.

He attended Georgia Tech in Atlanta graduating in June, 1949 with a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering degree. Ray had a distinguished career as an Industrial Engineer primarily working in the textile industry throughout the southeast. He retired in 1988 after serving 21 years with Cone Mills. He was named outstanding Industrial Engineer of 1971 by the Greensboro Chapter of the American Institute of Industrial Engineering.

Most importantly, Ray dedicated his life to following Jesus Christ. As a long time active member of First Baptist Church of Greensboro, he held many leadership roles. His passion became serving as Chairman of the Refugee Committee that cooperated with Lutheran Family Services to assist Montagnard refugees from southeast Asia as they settled in Greensboro. Over the years he retained friendships with each of the families he assisted, helping them find jobs, homes, meeting medical needs, assisting with educational needs of the children, and even helping establish churches. For his efforts, he received the Governor’s Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service in 1989.

Ray is survived by his loving wife of 69 years, Phyllis, daughter, Dawn Pegram of Greensboro, son Philip Anderson of Macon, Georgia, grandchildren Candy Brown (Jeff) of Macon, Georgia, April Shirey (Brian) of Archdale, and Caleb Anderson (Elizabeth) of Colorado Springs, Colorado and four great-grandchildren.

A graveside service will be held on Saturday, November 13, at 2:00 pm at Westminster Gardens. Family will greet friends afterwards. In consideration of those attending, standard COVID protocols are requested. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations made to First Baptist Church of Greensboro, NC in his memory.