Ray Foster Clark

the age of 80 on April 2, 2021, at Alive Hospice in Nashville, TN. Ray is survived by his three daughters,

Catherine Clark Graham, Allison Clark Bender (Chris Bender), and Melissa Clark Richards (Paul

Richards), and his grandchildren Ray Graham, Carlye Bender, and Peter Richards. Ray is also survived by

nine of his eleven siblings: Shirley Clark Belcher, Faith Clark Akers, Betty Clark Shirazi, Linda Kay

Clark Gearhart, Glenda Clark Deutsch, Larry Clark, Ronnie Clark, Gary Clark, and Wayne Clark. Ray

was also very close to his wife’s brothers and their wives, Buford and Betty Bates and Mark and Annie

Bates. Ray is preceded in death by his wife of 53 years, Marianne Bates Clark, his parents Kenis and

Martha Clark, and his two sisters Christine Clark Meade and Josephine Clark Branham.

Ray was born on June 6, 1940, in Honaker, KY. He graduated from Betsy Layne High School as

president and salutatorian of the Class of 1958, and he was inducted into the high school’s Hall of Fame

in 2017. Ray lettered in softball, played catcher, and held the team batting record (600). He also lettered in

basketball. Ray scored 1200 points during his three years on the varsity team, averaging 28 points per

game and sometimes scoring 40-50 points. For his junior and senior years, Ray was named to the All 58th

District Team, the All 15th Regional Team, and the All Pikeville Invitational Tournament Team; as a

senior, he also played in the Kentucky East-West All-Star Classic, and he was named to the Kentucky

All-State Team.

Ray was offered athletic scholarships by nine colleges and universities, and he accepted a

four-year scholarship to Vanderbilt University (1958-62). He played for coaches Bob Polk and Roy

Skinner, and in the 1960-61 season the Commodores were SEC co-champions with the University of

Kentucky. Ray graduated in 1963 with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering. He also

completed post-graduate engineering courses at UT-Nashville, Tennessee State University, and Nashville

Tech.

Ray’s engineering career spanned 51 years in Nashville. He began as a junior engineer at

McWhorter & Franklin Engineers (1963-69). Ray then worked 31 years at Nashville Electric Service

(1969-2000) with multiple promotions to Test Section Supervisor, System Control Superintendent,

Overhead Distribution Manager, and Operations Manager for the West Center. He trained NES engineers,

taught classes for Nashville engineering students, and delivered presentations at numerous professional

engineering conferences. Ray concluded his career where it had begun at McWhorter & Franklin

Engineers as a consulting engineer (2001-2014).

Ray married Marianne Bates in 1962, and they became parents to Catherine, Allison, and Melissa

and later proud grandparents to Ray, Carlye, and Peter. Ray was beloved by his family for his love,

warmth, kindness, intelligence, strength, generosity, and hard work. Ray enjoyed attending his

grandchildren’s ball games, playing tennis, gardening, renovating the family’s homes, and watching

Vanderbilt basketball and baseball games. During the 1990’s, Ray and Marianne established a community

stage theater--the Nashville Playhouse. While his wife acted, directed, and produced plays throughout her

theater career, Ray constructed sets for the shows. Not only did Ray support and encourage his family, but

he also volunteered for community organizations such as the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Habitat

for Humanity, United Way, the Alzheimer’s Association, the Shalom Foundation, Pull-Tight Players

Theatre, Mercy Community Healthcare, and Enrich For Life. Ray and Marianne were members of

Brentwood United Methodist Church and the Robert I. Moore Sunday School Class.

A memorial service to celebrate Ray’s life will be held on Saturday, June 26, at 3:00 p.m. at

Brentwood United Methodist Church (309 Franklin Road, Brentwood, TN).