Mr Bill Hurt Ray

Bill Hurt Ray, 91, of Archdale, died Sunday, April 17, 2011. He was born in Ronda on March 26, 1920, to William Lafayette and Myrtle Hurt Ray of Surry County. In 1922, the family moved to Winston-Salem, where he graduated from Hanes High School. In 1942, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, serving in London during WWII, training at Fort Hood, Texas and several stateside locations until he received an honorable discharge in1945. In 1944, he married Hazel Ernestine Angell at the home of her parents in Winston-Salem. A casualty insurance claims adjuster, examiner, and manager, he worked for companies in Greensboro, South Bend, IN, and Cincinnati, OH. In 1983, he retired from Shelby Mutual Insurance Co. in Greensboro, and with his wife returned to Winston-Salem, where he was an active member of the Kiwanis and Elks clubs. An avid traveler, amateur historian and photographer, he and Ernestine traveled to Europe and throughout the United States. In 2006, they moved to Archdale.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 66 yrs Hazel Ernestine Ray. Surviving are three sons; William Ernest Ray of Santa Clara, CA, David Winston Ray and his wife Carolyn of Archdale and Randall Hunter Ray of Elkin; four grandchildren; Stephanie Ray-Nichols and husband Jason of High Point, Jennifer Ray of Greensboro, Jessica Ray of Knoxville, TN and Libby Ray of Asheville and step grandsons Brian and Michael Hughes of High Point.

A funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday at Green Street Baptist Church in High Point. Burial will follow at Forsyth Memorial Park in Winston-Salem.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday from 5-7pm at Sechrest Funeral Service in Archdale.