Margaret "Peggy" Ray

MARGARET "PEGGY" RAY Homemaker Tupelo, Miss. -- Margaret Ann (Peggy) Stevenson Ray, 78, died at her home in Tupelo on Saturday, February 28, 2015, of complications from Alzheimer's disease. Visitation with the family is 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 1, 2015, in McFadden Hall of First Presbyterian Church in Tupelo, and again one hour before the funeral. The funeral will be at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, March 2, 2015, at First Presbyterian Church, Tupelo, with a graveside service to follow at Tupelo Memorial Park Cemetery on Joyner Street. W.E. Pegues Funeral Directors is in charge of the arrangements. A native of Corinth, Peggy was born on April 29, 1936, to William Cameron Stevenson and Clara Marguerite Johns Stevenson. She graduated in 1954 from Corinth High School where she received the DAR Citizenship Award and was Editor of the Annual, President of the Corinth Junior Music Club, and a DeMolay Sweetheart. Peggy attended Mississippi State College for Women (now Mississippi University for Women) where she was president of the sophomore class and a member of the Rogues social club, the Lantern Honorary, and the President's Council. She transferred to the University of Mississippi where she was affiliated with the Delta Delta Delta social sorority. Peggy earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from Ole Miss in 1957. Peggy taught high school students at Northwest High School in House Springs, Missouri, and elementary students at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans. She married Alcorn County native James Hugh Ray in 1959. They made their home in Tupelo and were married for 48 years until his death in 2007. As a child Peggy joined First Presbyterian Church in Corinth, and was a long-time member of First Presbyterian Church in Tupelo where she taught Sunday school, was a member of the property and grounds committee, and was an active member of Presbyterian Women. Peggy is remembered for her service in leading one of the early racially integrated Girl Scout troops in Tupelo. An avid quilter, Peggy also enjoyed gardening with native plants and was a talented cook whose pound cakes were savored by many. Peggy is survived by her son, James Stevenson Ray and Steve's wife Melinda Sumners Ray of Jackson, and their children Leslie Johns Ray of New Orleans and Cameron Stevenson Ray of Jackson; by her daughter Margaret Elizabeth Ray Ault, her husband William Bowen Ault II, and their children William Ray Ault and Clara Agnes Ault of Charlotte, North Carolina; and by her daughter Beverly Ann Ray, her husband Reed Lincoln Branson, and their children Robert Burns Branson II and Margaret Borroum Branson of Jackson. She is also survived by her brother, William Cameron (Mouse) Stevenson, Jr., and his wife Mildred Severance Stevenson of Jackson, and locally by a nephew, Mark Andrew Ray, his wife Sallie Kate Anderson Ray, and their children, Mary Taylor Ray and Mark Andrew Ray, Jr. of Tupelo. Peggy's family acknowledges with grateful appreciation the love and care given to her during her illness by Phyllis Birch, Anna Beth Scott, Brenda Barnes, Joyce Webb, Carrie Robertson, and Mickey Scott. Pallbearers are Cameron S. Ray, William R. Ault, Robert B. Branson II, William B. Ault II, Reed L. Branson, Mark A. Ray, and Andrew Ray. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the James Hugh Ray Endowed Fund of CREATE Foundation, Post Office Box 1053, Tupelo, Mississippi 38802 or First Presbyterian Church, 400 West Jefferson Street, Tupelo, Mississippi 38804.