Ray William Funk Jr.

1945-2023

Ray William Funk Jr., 77, of Murfreesboro, TN passed away peacefully surrounded by family on October 4, 2023, at Alive Hospice in Murfreesboro, TN after a battle with dementia, Parkinson's disease, and pneumonia.

Ray was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania on December 22, 1945, and grew up on his family’s orchard in Breinigsville, PA. He graduated in 1963 from Northwestern Lehigh High School in New Tripoli, PA. Ray was a 1967 graduate from Muhlenberg College in Allentown where he was a History and Political Science major. During his junior year of college, Ray enlisted in the US Army.

Ray met the love of his life, Judy, at Dorney Park in Allentown in August of 1966. He was a senior in college and worked at the park throughout his school years. Judy was a senior in high school and her family ran a park restaurant. They married at a young age; Ray was 21 and Judy's parents gave permission for her to be married at age 17.

After graduating college, Ray left for basic and advanced training at Fort Dix, New Jersey after which he moved on to Fort Benning, Georgia for OCS training. When the class was told they were all going to Vietnam, Ray decided to drop out. He did not want to be responsible for sending his soldiers into battle but instead wanted to fight beside them. Following a 30-day leave, he left for Vietnam as a private and quickly became a sergeant in the CO C 1/503 3rd BDE 82nd Airborne Division. He served in Vietnam in 1968-1969 during the Tet Offensive, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star medal.

Upon Ray’s return from Vietnam, he had a successful 35-year career working as a computer programmer for various organizations, including Burger Chef, Nabisco, Precision Castparts, Egghead and Boyd Coffee. For Egghead, Ray was a Y2K Cobol consultant in 1999. He was known for his attention to detail and took great pride in his work.

Over the years, Ray and his family resided in Levittown PA, Indianapolis IN, Nicholson PA, Beaverton and Hillsboro OR, Vancouver WA and Murfreesboro TN, while enjoying fellowship in their communities. Ray and Judy served as youth group leaders, with Ray also taking on the roles of Deacon and Sunday School Superintendent at the First Baptist Church in Factoryville, PA.

Ray was a dedicated husband, father, and grandfather who worked hard to provide for his family. Ray cherished his time with his family and was always willing to go the extra mile for them. He was an avid hobbyist, enjoying activities such as coin collecting, stamp collecting, record collecting, finding arrowheads, making car models, camping road trips, doing calisthenics, and he enjoyed watching local college football and basketball teams as a dedicated fan. Ray was also known for his love of music, as he kept record of the Top 40 in journals during his high school and college years and continued to do so even during his time in Vietnam.

Ray is survived by his wife Judith (Gaither) Funk; son Christopher (wife Van (Pham) Funk), daughter Jennifer Borne (husband Matthew), daughter Meredith Elmore (husband Brian), son Timothy (wife Kylee (Gower) Funk); grandchildren Abigail, Lydia, Sidney, Katie, Sophie, Brydon, Brayde, Alyssa, Devin, Connor, Brennen, Austin; great grandchildren Matty, Dashiell, Oliver; brother Dennis; brother Charles and sister Marysue (Funk) Bulcavage. Ray was preceded in death by his father, Ray William Funk Sr.; mother, Gloria (Fulmer) Funk; and sister, Diane Funk.

Ray's family will be honoring him with a memorial service in Ziegels Union Church in Breinigsville, PA followed by military honors at the family plot at Lehigh Zion Cemetery in Alburtis, PA on June 22 2024. Ray was cremated at Smith Family Funeral Home in Murfreesboro, TN. His legacy will live on through his wife, children, grandchildren, and family and friends who will always remember the impact he had on their lives.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Send to someone

Share this obituary with others

https://everloved.com/life-of/ray-funk-jr/obituary/

Copy