Timothy Britt Ray, 80, brother of Richard Ray, died in Gainesville, Florida following an extended illness on April 26. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana to Archibald Cole Ray and Eliza Britt Ray, Timothy graduated from the Darlington School and then from Davidson College in 1961.
With further interest in philosophical issues, Timothy graduated from Louisiana State University with an MA and then enrolled in a Ph.D. program at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He and Constance Abbott were married there in 1964.
Persuaded by volunteer experiences in helping people in dire circumstances, Timothy switched his concerns to social work. After earning an MSW at West Virginia University, he and Constance moved to California, where, as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, he coordinated the work of physicians, nurses, and social workers at the East Oakland Drug Abuse Clinic.
Timothy served in a number of capacities in California, including that of an instructor at the San Jose State University School of Social Work.
In order to become more able as an advocate for those with special difficulties, Timothy enrolled in the University of Santa Clara School of Law, and graduated with a law degree in 1976. This led to a move to Toledo, Ohio for the position of Director of the Legal Aid Society of Toledo.
In due time Timothy and Constance, along with their two children, moved to Florida where he served in a variety of administrative capacities. One that was especially important for him was as the founding president of a badly needed food bank in Alachua County.
He concluded his profession as a social worker by caring for those who were under hospice care.
While in Florida, Timothy became an Elder and Sunday School teacher at the First Presbyterian Church of Gainesville. He later affiliated with the Society of Friends where he continued to be engaged in outreach concerns.
An avid reader of historical and philosophical works, Timothy was also an attentive listener to the compositions of Mahler and Schonberg.
Along with Constance, Timothy is also survived by their son, Michael Gregory Owen Ray, his wife, Ginger Marshall and their son Mack of College Station, Pennsylvania and their daughter, Mary Eliza Rebecca Ray and her husband, David Rosnick, of Boston, Massachusetts.
The services will be conducted at a later date, with the interment in the family plot at the Oakridge Cemetery in Tifton, Georgia.