Rainey "Ray" Dotson, Jr.

Rainey “Ray” Dotson, Jr., 78, of Robinson, IL, passed away on July 18, 2025, at the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis, IN. Born in Huzzah, MO on August 13, 1946, he grew up in the Steelville area before graduating from Steelville High School in 1964. Soon after, he answered his country’s call, joining the U.S. Army to serve during the Vietnam War. He carried the weight of those years without complaint, and though he rarely spoke of what he went through, those experiences shaped him deeply.

Back home, life took him in many directions. He became the manager of Noah’s Ark restaurant in St. Charles, MO, where he first met Nelda Thompson. She didn’t care much for him at first, but by New Year’s Eve of 1967, that started to change. They married on April 26, 1968, beginning a partnership built on love and marked by decades of collaboration, both at home and in business.

Over the years, Ray held a number of jobs. He managed Lockhaven Country Club. He delivered Cardinal Potato Chips across the St. Louis area. He got his start in siding alongside his brother Carl. Eventually, he and Nelda moved to Florida, where Ray served as administrator and Nelda as a teacher at a private Christian school. A few years later, this entrepreneurial couple decided to embark on a new journey: small business ownership. While Nelda opened Gabriel’s, a Christian bookstore, Ray founded two businesses of his own: Total Homes, Inc. and Gulf Coast Siding Supply. He handled the sales, gave the quotes, made the phone calls, and ran between jobs to keep it all going. He didn’t just work hard. He built things. Homes. Companies. A life his family could stand on.

Outside of work, he found peace in the woods. He was an avid deer hunter who went out as long as his body would let him. He fished. He watched sports, especially basketball, which he played in high school and in pick-up games for years afterward. He cherished time spent with family. Ray showed love the way his father taught him: by teasing, aggravating, and picking on the people he cared about most. It was never mean-spirited. It was his way of saying, “I love you”, though he wasn’t afraid to say that plainly, too. He was steady. Kind. A man who never raised his voice, but who always made you feel heard. If you had a dream, his response was simple: “We can make it happen.”

And he really could.

After all, Ray had the kind of practical know-how that couldn’t be taught. He could watch someone do something once and just get it. What’s more, he understood the value of taking the time to do everything the right way. Indeed, that was how he lived his life: the right way.

And in that quiet, faithful way, he left us something lasting. A blueprint. Not just for how to build a house or run a business, but for how to love well, work hard, and stand steady when life gets tough. If we follow the pattern he laid out, then his legacy won’t just be remembered. It will be lived.

He is survived by his daughters and sons-in-law, Robin & Jim Davis, and Christy & Dan Carmichael. He also leaves behind five grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, several nieces and nephews, and other loved ones with whom he has recently united. He was preceded in death by his wife of nearly 54 years, Nelda Dotson; by his parents, Rainey, Sr. & Opal (Farmer) Dotson; by his brothers, Cletus, Virgil, Carl, and Gary Dotson; and by his sister, Donna Quipp.

It was Ray’s wish to be cremated without public services. The Goodwine Funeral Home in Robinson is entrusted with these arrangements.