James Hugh

JAMES HUGH RAY
Lawyer

Tupelo, Miss. -- James Hugh Ray, long-time Tupelo lawyer and community leader, died at his home in Tupelo on Thursday, March 15, 2007. He was 79.
The funeral will be at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 18, 2007, at First Presbyterian Church, Tupelo, with a graveside service to follow at Tupelo Memorial Park on Joyner Avenue. Pegues Funeral Home is handling arrangements. Visitation with the family is 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 17, 2007, in McFadden Hall of the Church, and again from 1:00 p.m. until the funeral on Sunday, March 18, 2007.
Born in the south Alcorn County community of Hinkle to Thomas Henry Ray and Isabelle Dunlap Ray in 1927, James Hugh grew up on the family farm located on Hinkle Creek. His boyhood chores included filling the wood box, keeping oil in the lamps (until electricity arrived when he was 9), clerking in the familys general mercantile store, milking the cows, and working the acre of cotton assigned by his mother. He had the able assistance of his ram sheep Mike Connor, paired oxen Lum and Abner, horse Seabiscuit, and mules.
After matriculating through Eighth Grade in the four-room Hinkle Consolidated School, he graduated from Biggersville High School in 1945 as "Best All-Around Boy. James Hugh earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1949 and a law degree in 1952 from the University of Mississippi.
At Ole Miss, James Hugh was a member of Sigma Chi social fraternity and active on the Intramural Council.
In law school James Hugh was president of the law school student body, associate editor of the Mississippi Law Journal, and a member of Omicron Delta Kappa leadership and Phi Alpha Delta honorary societies.
James Hugh began his legal career in 1952 with his brother H.M. Ray in Corinth. From 1955 to 1957 he practiced in the legal department of the Federal Land Bank in New Orleans, before returning to Corinth and serving as Alcorn County Prosecuting Attorney from 1957-58. In 1958 James Hugh moved to Tupelo to practice with Sam E. Lumpkin and Ralph L. Holland. He continued practicing law in Tupelo for 49 years with that same firm, most recently known as Holland, Ray, Upchurch, and Hillen, P.A.
While practicing law in Alcorn County, James Hugh served as chairman of the Alcorn County Chapter of the American Red Cross and as president of the Alcorn County Junior Chamber of Commerce.
Long active in Tupelo growth and development efforts, James Hugh served for many years as attorney and board member for Journal Publishing Company, publisher of the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal newspaper. The Daily Journal awarded him a Badge of Honor for "Standing for Right When It Wasnt Easyand thus being recorded in the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission files for suspicious activity while being a progressive leader on behalf of all Mississippi citizens. He was an early organizer of the Tupelo Bi-Racial Committee. He served as board attorney or board member of CREATE Foundation, Northeast Mississippis Community Foundation, from its founding in 1972 until his death, and was chairman of its board from 1982 to 1990.
James Hugh served as chairman of the Community Development Foundation in 1976-77, and was long active on the CDF board. An active member of the Tupelo Kiwanis Club from 1959 until his death, James Hugh served it as president in 1970-71. Recently, he was involved with the establishment of Sanctuary Hospice House in Tupelo, serving as a charter member of its board and as its volunteer attorney.
James Hugh was elected by lawyers across the state to serve as president of The Mississippi Bar in 1974-75. He was president of the Mississippi Bar Foundation in 1991-92, of the University of Mississippis Lamar Order in 1989-90, and of the Lee County Bar Association in 1963-64.
Governor William F. Winter appointed James Hugh to chair the governors Judicial Nominating Committee, a body formed by Governor Winter to recommend to the governor qualified persons for appointment as circuit, chancery, and supreme court judges.
James Hugh was an active participant in the life and work of First Presbyterian Church of Tupelo, and served as an elder for many years.
James Hugh is survived by his wife of 48 years, Margaret Stevenson ("Peggy) Ray. James Hugh is also survived by his son, James Stevenson Ray, Steves wife Melinda, and their children Leslie Johns Ray and Cameron Stevenson Ray of Jackson; by his daughter Margaret Elizabeth Ray Ault, her husband Bill, and their children William Ray Ault and Clara Agnes Ault of Charlotte, North Carolina; and by his daughter Beverly Ann Ray, her husband Reed L. Branson, and their children Robert Burns Branson II and Margaret Borroum Branson of Jackson. He is also survived by his brother, Hosea Manfred Ray of Tupelo; by his brother-in-law, William Cameron ("Mouse) Stevenson, Jr. and his wife Mildred of Jackson. He is also survived by his nephews Howard Manfred Ray of Skokie, Illinois; Mark Andrew Ray and his wife Sallie Kate of Tupelo; James Dunlap Ray and his wife Janice of Metairie, Louisiana; and by his niece Lucy Ray Dubus, also of Metairie.
He was predeceased by his parents, his stepfather Andrew Jackson McCord, and by two of his older brothers, Thomas Henry Ray and John Eugene Ray.
Pallbearers are Thomas H. Bailey, Norris VanVleet Caldwell, William Lowrey Crews, Jack Raymond Reed, J. William Young, Jr., and James Hughs law partners Ralph Leon Holland, Robert Kimmons Upchurch, Walter Reed Hillen III, Thomas Allen Wicker, Michael David Tapscott, and David Walker Upchurch.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to CREATE Foundation, Post Office Box 1053, Tupelo, Mississippi 38802, First Presbyterian Church, 400 West Jefferson Street, Tupelo, Mississippi 38804, or Sanctuary Hospice House, Post Office Box 2117, Tupelo, Mississippi 38803.