ESTHER RUTH RAY

1938 - 2025

Esther Ruth Ray, 87, passed away on Nov. 4, 2025, in Sweden Valley Manor, Coudersport, after a long illness.
Esther was born on August 22, 1938, to Mabel and Melford Donaldson, in Meadville. She was the youngest of four children. She spent her early years on a dairy farm until the family moved into Linesville Borough and attended Linesville First Baptist Church. She graduated from Linesville/Conneaut /Summit High School. She worked as a counselor at Camp Judson during summers as a teenager. She really enjoyed Home-Economics Class, as she hoped to someday be a homemaker and mother, and she loved going to the Farm Show in Harrisburg with her classmates every year.
She attended Alderson Broaddus College in Philippi, West Virginia, for two years, intending to major in early childhood education, but did not complete a degree.
In 1962 she married Richard Ray, a graduate of Edinboro State teacher's college, who had also graduated from Linesville High School. They spent one year in Duke Center where Richard taught art in Otto Eldred School District. They then moved back to Linesville where they lived until 1977, then spent two years in Lake City and then moved to Florida in 1979, where they lived until 2021. Richard passed away in 2021 after a long illness. In 2023, Esther moved to Pennsylvania to live with her daughter and son-in-law.
She worked a number of different jobs, picking corn in the summers, in a fiberglass plant that made trays, and for a short time Mercer Hospital Lab. While in Florida, she provided childcare in her home and in a day care. She later went back to school to become a Certified Nurse's Assistant and then worked in a nursing facility and also as a Home Health Aide. When she retired, she was her husband's caregiver for a number of years after he had two strokes.
Esther was active in churches in each of the different communities she lived in. She taught Sunday school and Junior Church for many years, sang alto in the choir, and helped with fellowship dinners and church picnics. When in Okeechobee, she attended many activities of the Seniors classes. She continued to receive the prayer list weekly from her Sunday school class, and lifted them all up in prayer, even during her time at the nursing home.
She enjoyed reading, knitting, sewing, playing cards, writing letters, family gatherings, and especially spending time with grandchildren.
She loved watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy every night, especially trying to guess the right answers in Jeopardy. She also enjoyed watching Blue Bloods because they ended every show with a family dinner which always included a prayer.
Surviving are two daughters - Ann Bell, (Chris) in Shinglehouse and Sharon Vegren, (Lance) in Winter Park, Florida; grandchildren – David, (Jenny) in Utah, Karen, (Olean N.Y.) Brian Bell, (Boston N.Y.) and Gemma Vegren. She also has two great-grandchildren - Hazel Bell and Lydia Bell, and numerous nieces, nephews and great – nieces and nephews.
She leaves a legacy of faith in Jesus Christ and commitment to family.
Family and friends are invited to attend a celebration Esther's life at 11 a.m on. Saturday, Dec. 13, at the First Baptist Church, Shinglehouse, with Pastor Clint Pearsall, officiating.
In lieu of flowers, memorials in Esther's name may be made to the First Baptist Church, PO Box 68, Shinglehouse, PA 16748, or to the First Baptist Church of Okeechobee, FL - https://www.fbcokee.org/
Esther's family entrusted her care to Kevin J. Dusenbury, funeral director/owner of the Virgil L. Howard Funeral Home, Shinglehouse.
To express condolences, light a candle or share a fond memory of Esther, please visit www.virgillhowardfuneralhome.com
or the Virgil L. Howard Funeral Home Facebook page.