Erma Ray

TORRINGTON, WY….. Funeral services for ERMA MARJORIE RAY, 82, will be held on Friday, March 26, 2010 at 10:30am at the Colyer Funeral Home Chapel in Torrington, Wyoming with Pastor Rick Carroll officiating. Viewing hours are Thursday from 3-7pm at the funeral home. Interment will follow the service at Hillcrest Cemetery in Lingle, Wyoming. Memorials can be made to the Senior Friendship Center. As the poet Dylan Thomas put it….Erma “raged and raged against the dying of ‘her’ light” for many years until she succumbed to her illness. She passed away gently in her house she loved with her family beside her, on Sunday evening March 21, 2010. Arrangements are under the direction of the Colyer Funeral Home and friends are invited to send condolences to the family at www.colyerfuneralhome.com. She was born in Parnell, Missouri to Clarence and Alma (Parker) Miller on March 17, 1928. She had four sisters and six brothers. Erma moved to Torrington, Wyoming as a young woman, where she met and married William “Bill” Ray on July 3, 1946. They raised five children on the family farm west of town until Bill’s death in 1977. Erma never remarried and raised her children alone. She was also greatly involved with the upbringing of her grandchildren as well. Erma is survived by her son Gary(Pam) Ray and children Tasha, Karrie, and Dwight, all of Colorado; son Dennis Ray and his children Andrea, Melissa, and David, all of Wyoming; son Larry Ray of Torrington, and daughter Linda (Jerry) Keeran and their children Aleighica and Sarandon whose devotion and care helped Erma to remain at home. She is also survived by seven great grandchildren, daughter-in-law Toni Ray of Wyoming; brother Dean (JoAnn) Miller of Illinois; her sister Verla Reynolds of Missouri, and many other distant family members. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Bill, daughter Lori, niece Jackie Bales, sisters Viola Musick, Beaulah Jordon, and Dolly Corum, and brothers, Dale, Clarence, Raymond, Junior, and Jack Miller. Of all the treasures life may bring, your family means the most. And whether near or far apart, that love will hold you close. Erma will be missed forever by her family.

Erma Ray

March 17, 1928 - March 21, 2010