Dorothy "Dot" Beall Ray

Dorothy ‘Dot’ Beall Ray was born in Forest Glen, GA on March 25, 1929. She passed away on July 31, 2022 in Jacksonville FL. She was preceded in death by her husband of 52 years, James Virgil Ray Jr., and her son, James William Ray. She is survived by her daughter, Judy (Allen) Davis, and three grandchildren, Sarah (Nathan) Rotich, Emily (Mitch) Karbo, and Evan Ray.

If you ever had the privilege of meeting Dot, you know that she was full of love and kindness. She was the epitome of grace and selflessness, and she was always thinking about and doing things for others. She exuded warmth, love, and happiness. She always spoke words of encouragement, and if you did any kind thing for her, you most likely heard her respond “You made my day!”

Dot grew up in Forest Glen, the youngest of 9 children. ‘The Old Homeplace’ was where the Bealls lived, and many fun family gatherings were held there, even long after all the children were grown and married. Dot was known as ‘Sister’ to her siblings. After graduating from high school, she lived with her sister Cile while attending college in Douglas GA. She then moved to Atlanta where she lived with her sister Frances and worked at the telephone company. Atlanta is where she met and married James. They moved to Florida in 1967 when James was transferred to Jacksonville while working for Atlantic Coastline Railroad.

Although she never would have admitted it, Dot’s gifts and talents were many. She rarely sat still, and her hands were always busy. She grew up on a farm and was very well connected with nature. She had a green thumb and always had a collection of beautiful hanging plants blooming on her front porch. She often had people who drove by stop and ask for gardening tips. She diligently put out her hummingbird feeder every spring, and weekly boiled sugar to put in the feeder after she cleaned it. She mowed her own grass until she was 80, and even after she no longer mowed the lawn, she still worked in the yard trimming hedges, fertilizing plants, and had some of the most beautiful azalea bushes ever seen.

Whether at family dinners, church dinners, or school functions for her children or grandchildren, Dot was known as a wonderful cook. It’s a tossup for her most requested dish at covered dish dinners – her sweet potatoes or her pound cake. At family dinners, the table was filled with all of her specialties: dressing, creamed corn, ambrosia, and homemade yeast rolls. And if you happened to get a pound cake for your birthday, it was extra delicious - she would meticulously cover the hole of the pound cake with aluminum foil, and then frost the entire cake with white 7-minute frosting. She could even make hot dogs and chili into an incredibly special meal for our annual Christmas get together with the Hellers. Her dining room table was well used, and many fun laughs and memories were shared around that table with family and friends.

If the dining room table wasn’t filled with food, it was the place where Dot was working on her most recent craft project. She was always making crafts for church bazaars, gifts as a room mother, favors for her Circle meeting, or any number of countless gifts she gave to family members, neighbors, and friends. For those who were gifted with an advent calendar she made, December 1st is a special day. We hang up our advent calendar and each day of the Christmas season enjoy adding one of the sequined ornaments from the calendar below to the tree above. It’s hard to pick a favorite gift she made to give to others, but this is one that tops the list.

Dot’s neighbor Pat was quite the quilter, and she got Dot interested in quilting. Dot was often found at her dining room table working on any number of countless quilts that she made to give away to family and friends. There were all kinds of quilts – patchwork, Dresden plate, leaves, Sunbonnet Sue, and bear quilts she gave as gifts to friends with newborn babies.

If Dot wasn’t in the kitchen cooking or in the dining room crafting or quilting, she was probably in her bedroom sewing. Most of Judy’s clothes growing up were sewn by her mother, and when Sarah and Emily were younger, Dot made all kinds of costumes and dress up outfits they wore when putting on shows in the living room. Dot also made most of her own clothes as well. She was always very well dressed and paired her creations she had sewn with her fun collection of holiday and colorful sweaters.

Dot loved Christmas, and in addition to putting up her advent calendar, her favorite part of the Christmas season was putting up and decorating her Christmas tree. It was filled with ornaments she had crafted and ornaments she received from family and friends. It was only in the past few years that she agreed to not use the ladder and allow someone else to put the angel on top of her Christmas tree for her.

Despite not driving, Dot didn’t let that hinder her independence. There was a bus stop two blocks from her house, and when Judy was growing up, they often took the bus downtown to shop at May Cohen’s and Ivey’s, get patterns and material from Phelps, make a stop to check out books at the library, and then have a hot dog and pickles at Stand N’ Snack. After James passed away, she had many friends who loved to give her rides to church, doctor appointments, grandchildren’s plays or anyplace else she needed to go. She was always trying to pay them for gas, and when approaching her house, had her hand on the door handle to get out as quickly as she could - she very much appreciated the rides and tried to inconvenience others as little as possible.

Dot really knew how to make her house fun for children, whether that was her own kids, neighborhood kids, children she babysat, or her own grandchildren. With an empty milk jug, water and food coloring, and a paintbrush, she had them convinced they had an important job of painting the outside of her house. She loved hiding Easter eggs inside, and hunting Easter eggs at her house extended well past Easter, into May and June. She would work her magic with an empty box, and it would become a chariot for a grandchild and her stuffed Christmas bunnies, a pretend stove, or a puppet theater for which she made full size and finger size puppets. Other fun activities that her grandchildren remember are playing baseball and badminton in the backyard, playing with Lite Brite, making a quilt with her children’s sewing machine, going to Easter egg hunts at church, going to see the Skinner’s Dairy cows, catching frogs at the retention pond, and playing records on her record player. She made the best PB&J’s with Cheetos, and always had Coke in her refrigerator.

Church was an important part of Dot’s life. Dot and her family joined Hendricks Memorial United Methodist Church when they moved to Jacksonville, and she was an active member until she moved to Silver Treasures at Lane. She faithfully attended church and Sunday School each Sunday and was also an active member of the Suzanna Circle. Dot and James had a wonderful time with the Nifty Fifty outings there, and after James died, Dot could often be found on Friday nights with her friends from church - Marilyn, Mae, and Evelyn - eating out somewhere fun. Later on, Susan, Linda, and other friends picked her up for church and they all had lunch together afterwards. Her friends from church helped her family put together a surprise party at Red Lobster for Dot’s 90th birthday. It was a day that she felt especially celebrated and loved.

Dot’s last year and a half was lived surrounded by love and joy at Silver Treasures at Lane. Dot and her family were grafted into the Silver Treasures family, and her family looks forward to continued visits with the staff and residents there (Lucy makes the best egg rolls!). Dot continued to be crafty while she lived there, and together with Judy, they made 100 blankets to donate to Project Linus. When Emily and Mitch were married in November, the staff hosted a watch party for Dot and the residents. After Sarah and Nathan’s wedding in July, the family had a post-wedding celebration at Silver Treasures – they brought flowers from the wedding, a playlist of music from the wedding, and had a fun dance party with Dot and the residents. Dot continued to love music and singing, and the staff often sang her favorite songs with her: You Are My Sunshine, and The More We Get Together.

Friends and family are invited to join together to celebrate Dot’s life at Oaklawn Cemetery on Tuesday, August 16th at 10AM. It will be a graveside service with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Friends of the Girl Child Network (friendsofthegirl.org - a non-profit Sarah established to empower girls in Kenya to lead and learn) or your favorite charity.

To attend service virtually please visit:

https://youtu.be/2Ha0PcVe9pY

https://youtu.be/AACzxL5yOMU