Ray Oliver Goad, age 92, passed away on May 3, 2020 in Smyrna, Tennessee. Ray was preceded in death by his parents, Elmer W. Goad, Nellie Haywood Goad, and his sister, Lucille Goad Kerr. Ray is survived by his wife of 69 years, Wilma Goad; children: Lisa Hughes (Mark) of Bainbridge, Georgia, Mark Goad (Rhonda) of Hiram, Georgia, and Meredith Goad of Portland, Maine; grandchildren: Rebecca Aduddell (Andy), Laura Cox (Josh), Sam Hughes (Whitney), Caroline Goad, Holly Sedys (Martynas), Ken Baylor, Jr. (Erica), Brett Baylor, and Eva Ribbrock Wittlake (Oliver); great-grandchildren: Brooks Aduddell, Ragan Aduddell, Gavin Hughes, Elizabeth Hughes, and Peyton Hughes; nephew, Dwight Kerr; niece, Dana Eichenlaub; and faithful dog, Raisin.
Ray enjoyed ice cream, airplanes, reading and birding. He was raised in the Knob Creek community in Maury County, Tennessee, where he attended New Hope School and Central High School. He served in the U. S. Air Force as a cryptographer. He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and retired in 1991 from the Buckeye Cellulose Division of Proctor & Gamble in Memphis, Tennessee.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to their charity of choice or to the general scholarship funds of Vanderbilt University or the University of Tennessee.