Ray L. Carlisle

Visitation will be held at Fred Hunter Funeral Home on Saturday, August 9, 2014, from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. with a memorial service at 2:00 p.m., followed by a Celebration of Life at the Ft. Lauderdale Antique Car Museum, 1527 SW 1st Avenue, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. www.antiquecarmuseum.org

Ray was born in McComb, Mississippi, on May 27, 1928, the seventh of nine children of James Lemuel and Edna Irene Blailock Carlisle. He was a fireman for the McComb Fire Department and worked at the Fernwood Box & Crate Company, where he met his future wife, Elizabeth. Ray was a member of the Mississippi National Guard; his unit was activated during the Korean War and he served in the Army for two years. He was a member of the American Legion.

Ray worked as a machinist/tool and die maker for Croft Aluminum Company in McComb for 14 years. In 1969 he was hired by Keller Industries, an aluminum manufacturing plant in Miami, and moved his family to Hollywood, Florida. He traveled extensively to Keller facilities across the country, troubleshooting, designing and building manufacturing machines. While at Keller, he invented and was awarded a patent for a "gusset plate for frame members" (corner clip for aluminum windows and doors). After Keller, he worked for Pan American Aluminum Company and Sternco International, returning to Keller and retiring in 1995.

He was an avid collector, having many interests. He was particularly fond of clocks, which he collected and was in many instances able to repair. Ray had a vast knowledge of how things worked, and if something was broken, he either knew or could figure out how to fix it.

Ray was a loving and caring son, husband, father, grandfather, friend and neighbor. He was always there to lend a hand to anyone. As a neighbor and close family friend wrote, "There is nothing he would not do for you and absolutely nothing that he 'could not' do. He was more than our neighbor; he was family." Another close family friend wrote, Ray was "a truly special man. Selfless, compassionate, considerate, patient and loyal."

Ray is survived by his wife of 64 years, Elizabeth Travis Carlisle; daughter, Barbara Carlisle Sanchez (Miguel "Mike"), Plantation, FL; son, Ray L. Carlisle, Jr. (Marylou Giraud), Pembroke Pines, FL; five grandchildren: Christopher Ray Carlisle, Cleveland, TN; Ashley Beth Carlisle, Pembroke Pines, FL; Adrianna Nicole Carlisle, Pembroke Pines, FL; Jon-Michael Ray Sanchez, Boynton Beach, FL; and Matthew Travis Sanchez, Sunrise, FL; brother, Howard Carlisle, Clinton, MS; sister, Lucille Carlisle Richardson, McComb, MS; numerous nieces and nephews; and his dog, Little Bit.

He was preceded in death by his parents and brothers Ed, Emmitt, Irvin, and Robert "Pete" and sisters Julia Mae Carlisle Montgomery and Anna Lee Carlisle Hill.