On July 5, 2020, Ray Franklin Barhight, Jr. passed away. He was the beloved husband of Margaret “Marge” Barhight (nee Purcell); devoted father of G. Scott Barhight and his wife Yvonne; loving grandfather of Connor G. Barhight and his wife Frances, and Matthew F. Barhight and his wife Lydia; cherished great-grandfather of Caroline and Annabel Barhight; dear brother of the late Ruth I. Stull.
A memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, those desiring may make a tribute donation in Ray’s name to St. John Episcopal Church, 11901 Belair RD, Kingsville, MD 21087.
Ray was born November 15, 1931, in Wilkes Barre, PA, to Mabel Drears Flecknoe Barhight and Ray Franklin Barhight, Sr. who already had a daughter, Ruth Irene. In 1941, the family moved to Middle River, MD, for his father to work at the Glen L. Martin Company; WWII was on.
Ray joined the Boys Scouts “so I could get a tent and all of the camping things.” He grew a little wild but never did anything really bad. He didn’t care too much for school “because of all those people telling me what to do,” but changed his mind when he fell in love with a neighborhood girl named Marge Purcell, who claimed she would not marry a guy who didn’t graduate from high school. Ray loved to tell people that he and Marge walked down the aisle twice, once when they graduated from Kenwood HS and then when they were married on January 19, 1952, at Mountain Christian Church in Harford County, MD. Because of their faith in the Lord, they had their rings engraved “Each for the Other, Both for God”; and the couple tried to live their lives with Love and guided by the Lord.
During the Korean War, Ray joined the Air Force and spent a year in Korea before completing his military life in Oklahoma at Altus Air Force SAC Base. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Sergeant. He and Marge returned home to jobs at the Martin Company. They bought a row home in Hawthorne and became parents on June 29, 1957, to a son whom they named George Scott. Scott was and is their pride and joy, along with Scott’s wife, Yvonne, and sons, Grif and Matt, and their wives, Frances and Lydia and great-granddaughters, Caroline and Annabel.
After service, living in Hawthorne, Ray joined Essex-Middle River Junior Chamber of Commerce and served as Cub Master and Assistant Scout Master. He later joined the Maryland Masons to which he became devoted. When Marge had a stroke in 1996, they both retired and moved to their dream house in the mountains of Morgan County, WV. Ray joined the Masons in Hancock, MD and became Master in 2005. They moved back to Maryland in 2017 at Oak Crest Retirement Home where they devoted their time to each other. Ray had bone cancer which was treated for years and then lung cancer which caused his death on the evening of July 5, 2020. When he died, Marge was singing “We’ll Meet Again” to him.
