Obituary of Brandon Ray

Brandon D. Ray, age 46 of 2801 Highway 6 East, Iowa City died unexpectedly while on vacation Wednesday, June 21, 2006, in Mountain View, Utah. Memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, June 29, 2006, at the Friends Church in West Branch with the Reverend Ruthie Tippin officiating. Visitation will be from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 pm Wednesday at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service in Iowa City. Family graveside services will be held at the Elm Grove Cemetery in Washington. A memorial fund has been established through the Federal Employee’s Credit Union at the VAMC for David Ray’s Education Expenses. Online condolences may be sent for Brandon’s family through our website @ www.gayandciha.com. Brandon David Ray was born March 18, 1960, in Iowa City, the son of Ernest C. and Mary A. (Simmering) Ray. He graduated from Washington High School in 1978, and had attended the University of Iowa. For over twenty years Brandon had been employed at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Iowa City, most recently with the position of Night Administrator. He was a member of the Friends Church in West Branch, where he had recently been appointed to the Christian Education Committee. Brandon was fascinated and obsessed with America’s space program. Maybe it was because his father had worked in the Goddard Space Flight Center, or the fact that he had witnessed in person the first launches of the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia. He loved and supported the space program. He read voraciously on a wide range of subjects, and enjoyed his amateur writer status. Brandon was involved in the Science Fiction League of Iowa Students and helped run the local science fiction convention for many years. But Brandon’s great joy and pride came from his role in his supporting his son, and his goals in his education. David had just recently been accepted at Cornell College, and Brandon was extremely proud of this. His family includes his wife, Eleanor Crownfield Ray; son, David Ernest Ray both of Iowa City; Brandon’s mother, Mary Ray of Washington; brother, Nigel Ray and his wife, Susan of Iowa City. Brandon was preceded in death by his father; Ernest C. Ray. Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service is caring for Brandon’s family and his services.