Clarence Niles Ray

C. Niles Ray, who was one week shy of 82, of Greenville, South Carolina, died at home on Tuesday, October 10, 2017. Niles was born in New York City on October 17, 1935. He was the elder of two sons of Beulah and Clarence Niles Ray. After Niles’s father died when he was about ten, he, his younger brother Joel, and his mother moved from Jackson Heights, New York, to Asheville, North Carolina. Niles was preceded in death by his wife of 28 years, Lynne McLees Ray, who passed in June 2008. Niles had a varied history of early jobs, starting when he was 12. He first picked up and delivered laundry for his uncle in Asheville, a job that required hard work, but more importantly, speed and agility in avoiding dogs on the route. He later pumped gas, which he expected to be his life career, and one summer he sold Cutco Cutlery door-to-door in Tampa, Florida, with his cousin, Larry. Niles’s life trajectory changed when his Uncle Laurie Ray and Aunt Jane generously supported his education at Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he studied accounting. During college, Niles and a dorm friend contracted with golf courses in northern Florida to recover balls (sneaking in after dark to collect “non-contracted” balls). With the aid of scuba gear, they scooped up balls by the bucket in 30-foot water surrounding an island green, collecting 30,000 in one lucrative day. Niles delighted in telling this story, and pointing out that his college friend went on to run the largest golf-ball recovery business in the U.S. Another summer, Niles and some college buddies hitchhiked to Alaska for high-paying jobs that they discovered were for union members rather than college kids. Instead, they found work at a gold mining camp, living in a tent and working seven days a week, making enough money in one summer to pay for their entire junior year tuition, but more importantly, learning that this kind of work was painful and not at all promising. Niles then used his golfing-scuba skills to join the Navy, and for the rest of his life talked about how lucky he was to serve our country in peacetime. After some time on the open sea, Niles requested a transfer to the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit (precursor to the Navy SEALS), where he was assigned to Pearl Harbor for weapons recovery diving. His top-secret clearance had his mother asking him, “What have you done now—there are some strangers here in Asheville asking questions about you?” After his five-year Navy stint, Niles began his career as a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch in 1964 back in Asheville; in 1974 he moved to Greenville, SC, to start the Merrill Lynch office and continue what would be a 53-year career. His years developing his business, and especially his later mentoring and partnership with Ben Clauss and Doug Ellison, reinspired his appreciation of his work. In Greenville, Niles was involved with the Art Museum, United Way, YMCA, and delivered for Meals on Wheels after his retirement. Niles was chairman of the Finance Committee during the construction and early operating years at the Peace Center, an experience that taught him what dedicated groups of people could accomplish. His volunteer work reflected how highly he thought of Greenville and how much he enjoyed being a part of this community. In 2014, in honor of his Uncle Laurie who sent him to college, Niles set up the C. Niles Ray and Dr. Laurie G. Ray Endowed Scholarship Fund to help motivated students with limited resources begin or continue their education at Greenville Tech. Niles was part of numerous circles of folks who lived and laughed passionately: Navy buddies from the EODU, wacky car rally groups, decades of tennis partners (sometimes tournament champions), dedicated pingpong troupe at the YMCA, friends and neighbors from his 20 years of retreats in the Turks and Caicos, and running pals with the FREAKS/FRWEAKS (Furtherance of Running, Eating and Ale-Quaffing Society—the addition of “Walking” came in later years). All his relationships lasted, and grew. And he had a clear affinity for feisty women. In 1994, Niles gathered his wife, all his children and their spouses and his first grandchild for a week together at Figure Eight Island, what would become an annual family vacation—on South Carolina beaches or further afield in Montana, the west coast of Canada, Maine, Kenya—that he was very proud to do consistently “with 100% participation” for the next 17 years. Niles was curious by nature and took multiple classes every semester in the OLLI program at Furman. He felt lucky to travel and learn, meet new people, and explore new places and ideas. He hiked regularly north of Greenville, with his wife and favorite dog, Dandy, who ran 15 miles to their 5 and kept them from getting lost. He was a lifelong sports fan and loved watching, tennis, golf, and football, and playing anything that needed a ball. Watching a game with him doubled the experience. He was endlessly sensible and practical, thorough and thoughtful, and had a quick wit and a laugh that stuck with you. From his daily adventures to his world travels, Niles lived a wealth of stories he loved retelling again and again. Sentimentality annoyed him, and he would likely reply to bad news with a simple, “Well, phooey,” but he was devoted to his friends, loved his family, and was deeply proud of how much they love him and each other. Niles said he was privileged because he’d been lucky in life, but those who crossed his path were the lucky ones: Niles made the world a better place for all of us who knew him and many who never would. Niles is survived by his four children, Blake Ray and his partner Shannon Waller, of Asheville, NC; Tes Thraves and her wife Milan Pham, of Hillsborough, NC; Jack Ray and his wife Joelle of Raleigh, NC; Pamela Zivari and her husband Bashir of Montclair NJ; his brother, Joel Ray and his wife Marilyn, of Ithaca, NY; his six grandchildren, Sam and Cole Ray, Camilla and Margot Zivari, Charlie Ray and Liv Waller; and his great-granddaughter, Emalani Ray. A memorial service will be held at 4th Presbyterian Church, 703 E Washington St, Greenville, on Thursday, Oct 19th, 2017, at 2:00 pm with a short reception at the church afterwards, and the family will then continue the celebration of his life at Niles’s home in Greenville from 5-7pm. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Meals on Wheels, www.mealsonwheelsgreenville.org The Mackey Mortuary. Condolences may be made to the family by visiting www.mackeymortuary.com