Patricia Ray

Patricia Charnes Ray, 1932 - 2022

Patricia Ann Charnes Ray was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend to many during her incredible 90 years of life. She passed away peacefully in her sleep in the early hours of October 25th, 2022 at her home in Hinckley, Illinois. She happily maintained a fiercely independent lifestyle right up until the last few months of her life.

Pat is survived by her daughters Chrissa (Richard) Tibbits of Prospect Heights, Diane (Mike) Frantzen of Hinckley, her son Jeff (Maggie) Ray of Tampa, FL and grandchildren Will Frantzen of Hinckley and Kimberly (Mike) Maloney of Ardmore, PA, and great-grandchildren Abigail, Michael, and Luke Maloney.

She is preceded in death by her husband Charles Lee Ray, her infant daughter Cheryl Ann Ray and her adult son Douglas Paul Ray.

Born February 8, 1932, to Loueva G. Slusser Charnes and James E Charnes, Pat's early childhood life was a bit of a challenge. As if being a baby born during the Great Depression was not enough, Pat's father died when she was just 3 years old. As an only child, Pat lived with her grandparents until she was about 12 years old. Her mom married a widower, Fred B. Lamb of Champaign, IL, and Patricia became part of a family with sisters and a brother.

Pat graduated from Champaign High School in 1950 and shortly thereafter married Charles (Charlie) Lee Ray who was a graduate of a rival high school in Rantoul, IL. After Charlie completed his military service and graduated from the University of Arizona, they established residence in Wheaton, IL in 1958 and began growing and raising their family.

Like many women of her generation, she eventually became interested in finding new challenges outside of the traditional housewife role, especially as her children grew older. In 1971 she began working part-time as a cashier at Suburban Buick in Wheaton, Illinois. She was later promoted to Head Cashier and Warranty Administrator, or as Pat would say; "she was the lady that held your car keys hostage until you paid your bill!"

She enjoyed her work and her coworkers so much that she baked birthday cakes every year for every person in the shop. She would be part of the Suburban Buick team for a total of 37 years and retired in 2008. Quite a career!

As her mom's health declined, she moved her mother to her home in Wheaton and cared for her for 10 years while working full time and also taking care of her ailing husband. After her mother and husband passed away, Pat enjoyed travel and spending time with family and friends. In 2008, Pat bought a house in Hinckley, IL that is situated on a little pond and will forever be referred to by the family as "mom's lake house." The move to Hinckley brought her closer to her daughter Diane and her family.

Pat settled into small-town life and became an active member and participant in the congregation of the First United Methodist Church in Hinckley. Putting her experience as a cashier to use she helped with the weekly collection process and also was part of the hospitality committee.

She was a wonderful cook and homemaker and was always trying out new dishes. She maintained an elaborate card catalog of her tried and true recipes, although no one could remember how long to bake the roast every Christmas!

She loved to laugh and had a great sense of humor. We will miss mom dearly and are so grateful for the time we had to spend with her. We will always feel her presence in our hearts.

A celebration of her life will be held Saturday November 19th at 1pm at: Hinckley First United Methodist Church, 801 N. Sycamore St, Hinckley, IL 60520.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the HFUMC Hospitality Committee, or the Hinckley Public Library Building Renovation Fund.