Shirley Modene Ray

Shirley Modene (Lambeth) Ray was born in Elkins, New Mexico on March 23, 1935. She spent her childhood in Moriarty, New Mexico where her parents Bud and Lola farmed. The family moved to California towards the end of the dust bowl to find work.

While living in Delano, Shirley met William (Bill) Ray. She stated that she first met him on a blind date and didn’t like him very much but he had “beautiful eyes”. They married on October 16, 1954, and started their family shortly thereafter. They would go on to

have six children,14 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren and one great great grandchild.

Shirley raised her family in Cuyama, California. She was kept very busy taking care of her home and family but also worked seasonal jobs, did bookkeeping for her husband’s business and also did housekeeping for other people. She was very involved in school activities and after school sports with all her children. When her youngest child started junior high school, she started working full-time at the Cuyama Buckhorn as a waitress and motel laundress. She eventually started working at The Barn as a cook but retired in 1998 when she and my Father moved to Oklahoma. She lived there with extended family and relatives until returning to California in 2021. She loved to read, do puzzles, do crossword puzzles and watch true crime or detective shows. She also liked to keep “cow and bird watch” on the pasture behind us from her bedroom window. The artwork in her bedroom and bathroom is cow themed because of this.

She is preceded in death by her husband Bill, her parents and siblings, son Randy, daughter Robin and daughter-in-law Carol. She is survived by sons Richard, Ronnie and Paul, son-in-law Scott, daughter Renae , daughter-in-laws Karen and Pearl and all

of her grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchild. She had fierce pride and love for them all. She also has sister-in-laws and many nieces and nephews that she leaves behind. She loved them all as if they were her own. She was a great role model teaching us all to work hard, be honest, stay resolute in our beliefs and that family and faith are the most important things in life. She leaves a hole in our heart and will be greatly missed.

Shirley loved to feed people. Because if this, her family requests that in lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your local food pantry.

Services for Shirley are as follows;

A visitation will be held at Funeraria Del Angel Hillcrest, located at 9101 Kern Canyon Road, Bakersfield, CA, 93306, US, on February 19, 2026, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm.

The funeral service will follow at the same location on February 19, 2026, from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm.