Thomas RAY

KITTY HAWK, N.C. - Tom Ray, 78, of Kitty Hawk, has run his last race. He hailed from West Virginia and called Kitty Hawk home.
He is survived by his wife, Julia of the home; son, Patrick, and his wife, Barbara, of Hampton; and daughter, Jennifer; brothers and sisters, Lucille "Boots" Lambert, Martha Bevins, Rea Ann Shultz, Jesse Ray, Naomi Causey, Carol Williams and Thurman Ray; two granddaughters and one great-granddaughter.
He was preceded in death by his oldest daughter, Cathy.
Tom retired from civil service at Fort Monroe where he worked after Langley. He dedicated himself to helping others through alcoholism counseling and family support. He retired from active duty in the Air Force as a Chief Master Sergeant. He also worked for the Division of Alcoholism Services for a number of years. He earned degrees from St. Leo College and Hampton University and completed advanced studies at Indiana University.
Tom is known throughout the Peninsula as a runner who not only strived to compete in the thousands of races he entered but to encourage and motivate countless other runners and would-be runners, as well as volunteer whenever possible. He was very active in the Colonial Road Runners, The Peninsula Track Club as well as a member of the Outer Banks Running Club. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame for the Peninsula running clubs in 2007 for his lifetime accomplishments running.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the Duck Church Disaster Relief Fund or the Sign Fund (PO Box 8010, Duck NC 27949) in his honor are preferred.
A Celebration of his Life will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 12, 2011, at Weymouth Funeral Home, Newport News, Va. View and post condolences on our online guestbook at dailypress.com/guestbooks.