Alfred Ray Cozart

Alfred Ray Cozart passed away on June 28, 2025, in Chandler, Arizona, the town he called home for most of his 76 years.

He was born in Coldwater, Michigan, to parents Alfred Clarence Cozart and Violet Lorene Gidcumb. Ray was raised in Mesa, Arizona by Violet and his Stepfather Harold E. Jewell. He moved to Mesa at a very young age and stayed there until he graduated from Mesa High School. He worked a long career with Kiewit Western, where he retired.

Throughout his life, Ray loved working on old cars. When he wasn't working on a car, he enjoyed bowling. Most importantly of all, his greatest enjoyment was being a grandfather.

As a grandfather, Ray believed in love expressed in sugar: snack cakes, chips, pop tarts — the full pantry of joy. His grandkids will remember the way he never said no, even when their parents wished he would.

Ray was, above all, generous — sometimes to a fault. He would give you the shirt off his back. He helped because he could, not because it made him feel good or look good. His kindness wasn’t performative. It was just who he was — maddeningly selfless, hilariously stubborn, endlessly dependable.

He is preceded in death by his parents; his two brothers: Billy and Duwayne.

He leaves behind a world slightly more broken without him: his sons Ray Cozart, Jr. and William Cozart; his daughter Michelle Lazur; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, his friend Tess Haynes, and a network of other relatives and friends.

Ray may have never finished his collection of classic cars, but he finished strong where it counted — in love, in loyalty, and in legacy. Rest easy Ray, your work is finally done.