Greg Ray, supervisor of school bus maintenance at Mobile County Public Schools and retired supervisor of the Alabama school bus inspection program, passed away on Oct. 30 following a long fight with cancer. He was 65.
Greg RayJoe Lightsey, retired state director of transportation at the Alabama State Department of Education, told STN that Ray was instrumental in implementing the America’s Best School Bus Inspector and Technician program at the state level, and also coordinated the trade show at the state’s annual pupil transportation conference. Lightsey added that Ray retired from the Department of Education in 2013 to take the position at Mobile County, where he worked until his death.
“He was a great friend and an excellent employee of the SDE,” said Lightsey. “I will miss him greatly.”
Ray also assisted in setting up the Arkansas state school bus inspection program and trained new inspectors.
Prior to joining the Department of Education, Ray was a deputy sheriff in Charlotte County, Florida, according to his obituary in The Birmingham News.
He is survived by wife Lillie; children Michael Ray, Andy Ray, Richard Knowles and Kimberly Brooks; brother Tom Perryman; sisters Barbara, Rindy and Phylis; and five grandchildren.
Lightsey said Ray asked to be cremated and in lieu of flowers that donations be made to the Southern Cancer Center in Daphne, Alabama. A Celebration of Life is scheduled for Nov. 21 at 11:30 a.m. at East Pointe Baptist Church in Spanish Fort, Alabama.
