Ex-Russellville superintendent Ray remembered

RUSSELLVILLE — Dr. Wayne Ray, who served as superintendent of Russellville City Schools from 2000 to 2008, died Aug. 27 at age 82.

Ray spent 44 years with the system as a coach, teacher and administrator. He first came to Russellville in 1965 as a teacher and assistant football coach, later serving as head coach, principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent.

“He was the most consistent man. He had a moral compass that never failed him,” former Russellville teacher and principal Rocky Stone said.

Stone said Ray never cut conversations short and always seemed glad to see others. He also recalled him as willing to take responsibility in difficult moments.

Former superintendent Rex Mayfield shared a similar view.

“His main concern, every time I dealt with him, was always about the students,” Mayfield said. “He was very personable. He was never too busy to talk to you and check on you.”

“He cared about his employees and had an open-door policy,” Mayfield said. “If you ever talked to Dr. Ray, he always checked back about how you were doing — not just work, but your health and your life. He genuinely cared.”

For Andy Wright, who knew Ray as a student in the 1970s and later as a parent and board member, the impression is the same.

“I remember Coach Ray as our assistant principal, and he was always friendly, caring and put his students first,” Wright said. “He was an excellent role model and a man of worth.”

Wright said he also saw Ray’s leadership during his children’s years at RHS, when Ray served as assistant superintendent and later superintendent.

“He was always very friendlyandapproachable,” Wright said.

“What stood out to me about Coach Ray was how caring and friendly he was to everyone,” Wright said. “He was also a great Christian example of how to treat and serve other people.”

That sense of fairness shaped Ray’s leadership style.

“Objectives depend on good people. To keep good people, you must make them feel worthy and that they are contributing,” Stone said.

Mayfield said Ray’s standard still endures.

“He always wanted Russellville to be the best, and I think that still exists today,” he said.

Don Cox, who came to Russellville in 1980 as head football coach while Ray was principal, remembered him as both mentor and friend.

“He became my mentor and not only my mentor, my best friend,” Cox said. “We spent many, many hours solving problems.” Cox said Ray also shared plenty of lighter moments.

“He loved talking about his grandkids, his kids and Alabama football. He helped shape me as a person and as an employee.”

Cox said Ray valued student success above all else.

“He lived school — he just didn’t work at school,” Cox said. “For his 42 years, he had his finger in everything.”

That devotion, Cox added, reached into every corner of the school system.

“He had tireless efforts to be at every event, and he believed Russellville was the best school system in the state of Alabama.”

Cox said Ray’s influence extended into his own years as superintendent.

“Almost any decision I made was a reflection of the ones we made together,” Cox said. “There’s no doubt he was the most influential person in my life.”

Even in difficult decisions, those who worked with him remember Ray leading with empathy.

Slade Gilmer, a Russellville graduate, described him as “a good, honest, decent man who did what was right no matter the consequences.”

Gilmer said he first met Ray as a child.

“I was probably 7 or 8. He was incredibly kind and friendly to a young person who he didn’t really have to be,” Gilmer said.

He said Ray always seemed to remember anyone, no matter how many interactions he had with them.

“Just because he’d been at RCS for years in positions of authority didn’t make him too good for anyone,” Gilmer said.

Ray’s humility went hand in hand with his pride in family.

“Any time you saw him, he was bragging on his kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, and everyone in his circle,” Gilmer said.

That pride never faded, even after Ray stepped away from the superintendent’s office.

“Even after retirement, he would go out of his way to find us and could not wait to tell us what McKenna or Dylan had done. They made him so proud.”

Gilmer said Ray was both serious and lighthearted.

“He was very decent and strait-laced, but he could joke and laugh and cut up with the best of them,” Gilmer said.

Gilmer added that Ray’s loyalty to Russellville always showed, but family came first.

“He may have been from Hackleburg, but he was a Golden Tiger through and through — except when his grandkids played against Russellville in baseball or softball. Grandkids trump all.”

Gilmer said that mix of loyalty, humor and decency is what defined Ray in the eyes of those who knew him best.

“Dr. Wayne Ray was everything you would want in an educator, a mentor and a friend,” Gilmer added. “Russellville will miss him tremendously.”