Ervin “Al” A. Ray, 91, of Salina, passed away peacefully at home, with his beloved wife by his side, Saturday, July 10, 2021.

He was born July 18, 1929, in La Cygne, Kansas to William A. and Faye C. (Sanders) Ray, who precede him in death.

Al met and married the love of his life in Margaret A. Hair, May 30, 1953, in West Lake, Louisiana.

Al joined the Air Force in 1948, when he was just 19 years old.  During his 20 years of service, Al became an air traffic controller and earned 6 bronze oak leaf clusters and 1 Oak Leaf Cluster Silver Star. Al’s wife, Margaret, at times was able to travel with him as he performed his military duties while he was stationed abroad.

Following his retirement from the Air Force in 1968, Al went to work for the FAA in 1969, and became an air traffic controller at the Kansas City International Airport, then transferred to the Salina Municipal Airport.  During the air traffic controllers strike in 1981, Al figured it was time to get out and do something different.

Al went to work for the State of Kansas where he worked for several years as a vocational evaluator and retired several years later.

While Al was employed with the FAA, Al attended and graduated from Marymount College, earning a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.

Al was a man of overwhelming ambition and talent. None more evident and meaningful than the 3 years it took him to frame, and build a home in Mentor, Kansas, in which he would continue to love his wife in, and lived there for 33 years.

Al also was known to grow a garden anyone would have been jealous of.  The sight of a beautiful vegetable garden and the produce it provided will long be remembered by those who partook in and enjoyed his harvest.

He was preceded in death by his brother, Kenneth Ray.

Those left to mourn and remember Al’s memory and his gentle heart include his most beloved wife of 68 years, Margaret A. (Hair) Ray, their 3 children, Janice C. Martinez and husband, Alvaro of Pasadena, TX, Steven A. Ray and wife Elizabeth of Jacksonville, Fl., and Stuart W. Ray and wife Joan of Salina, a brother to Dale Ray of Linn Valley, KS., and Virgil Ray of Centerville, KS, and 6 grandchildren, Lauran, Jessica, Leslie, Alvaro “Ito”, Sarah and Brent.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 am, Tuesday, July 20, 2021, at the Evangelical Covenant Church, 102 S. Washington St., Lindsborg, KS.

The committal service will be 2:00pm, also on Tuesday, July 20, 2021, at Roselawn Memorial Park where Al will be laid to rest with Military Honors provided by the U.S. Air Force Honor Detail from McConnell Air Force Base, and the American Legion Riders, Post 62, of Salina.