Ray E. Malone, age 98 of Shiloh, passed away Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at Hospice of Dayton.
He was born February 11, 1922 in Jamestown, Tennessee, the son of the late John and Alice (Conatser) Malone. He was the 5th of 11 children.
Along with his parents, he is preceded in death by his wife of 65 years, Jean Malone; 3 brothers, Ralph (Jackie), Tom (Lee), and Jasper; 5 sisters, Ruby Smith, Ruth McCulley, Reba (Harley) Crabtree, Lois (Conrad) Blair and Claudell Hixson; sister-in-law, Shirley Malone; and 2 sons-in-law, Ray Sexauer and Bill Martin.
Ray is survived by his daughters, Vicki (Sam) Barton, Valarie Martin, Patti (Charlie) Smith; 3 grandchildren, Dawn (Brian) Selby, Josh (Nicole) Smith and Chris (Sarah) Martin; 6 great grandchildren, Tyler (Drew) Selby, Colin Selby (Emily Turner), June Smith, Bailey, Piper and McKenzie Martin; sister, Ellarie Bates; brother, Charles Malone; sister-in-law, Genean Malone; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
Ray attended Happy Corner Church of the Brethren. He came to Dayton in 1940 and served his country in the Army during WWII. He entered the Army on November 7, 1942 and was a gunnery crewman in the field artillery. His tour of duty included N. Africa, France, Germany and Italy. He was honorably discharged on November 1, 1945. He also belonged to VFW Post 7741 in Clayton. He returned to Dayton and married Jean Schroer of Indiana on August 3, 1946.
After Ray returned to Dayton, he went to work at Standard Thompson, at which time he decided he wanted to be an entrepreneur. In 1953, he purchased Lora's Restaurant and in 1966 he founded Malone's Dri Foam Carpet Cleaning. He retired from there in 1984. Additionally, he was President and Vice President of Grand Squares Dance Club.
After retirement, Ray and Jean did a lot of traveling including taking cruises to the Carribean, Europe and the Panama Canal. They also traveled to Canada and other parts of the US extensively.
Ray was an avid golfer, bowler and square dancer. He also enjoyed writing poetry and tending to his large vegetable garden.
Visitation will be held on Friday, February 14, 2020 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Newcomer North Chapel (4104 Needmore Rd., Dayton, Ohio 45424). Funeral service will be held on Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 10:30 am, also at the funeral home. Burial will follow in Forest Hills Memorial Gardens.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Hospice of Dayton.
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