Willie Vivian Warren Ray not only amazed her family, and possibly the Social Security Administration, with her long life, but she likely surprised herself, too.
“She was born in 1903 when the average life expectancy was something like 47 years old,” said her great-niece Nita Willard, of Mableton. “So, no I don’t think she expected to live this long.”
Mrs. Ray died of natural causes Saturday in her residence at Lenbrook in Atlanta. She was 108. A funeral service has been planned for 2 p.m. Friday at Sandy Springs Chapel, which is also in charge of arrangements. She will be buried at Arlington Memorial Cemetery.
Mrs. Willard said over the last eight years, her great-aunt began to playfully deny her age.
“After she turned 100, each year I’d remind her how old she was,” she said. “And she’d say, ‘No, no, I can’t be that old.'”
But Mrs. Ray wasn’t the only one in disbelief. In the past year, officials from Social Security paid her a visit at Lenbrook, Mrs. Willard said.
“With all of the fraud and whatnot going on, I guess they needed to make sure she was still around,” Mrs. Willard said with a laugh. “The really funny part is, the day they went to see her, she was in the salon. She loved to keep her appearance up and get her hair and nails done.”
There was no secret formula for Mrs. Ray’s longevity, her family said.
“She ate what she wanted,” said her great-nephew Dan Moss Jr., of Atlanta, while ticking off a list that included biscuits, fried chicken and ham.
Mrs. Willard tried to get her great-aunt to drink more water, “but that just wouldn’t do,” she said. “She loved chocolate, cokes and coffee.”
Mrs. Ray was born in Sugar Valley in Gordon County, near Calhoun. She married Holdman A. Ray in the 1930s and they were married for approximately 30 years, before he died in 1967. Though the couple never had children, Mrs. Ray took a special interest in her siblings’ offspring. She didn’t have a formal college education, but she wanted all of her nieces, nephews and their children to further their studies.
“She knew a good education was the way to success,” Mr. Moss said.
During her career, Mrs. Ray held a number of jobs, including working at Sears & Roebuck on Ponce and at Bell Bomber during World War II. One of the jobs she enjoyed the most was that of a real estate agent, Mr. Moss said.
“She did that for 30 years and worked for a number of companies,” he said. “I think her last transaction was when she was in her 80s and that was selling her own home before she moved to Lenbrook.”
Mrs. Ray kept active in her later years, despite some health challenges, her great-nephew said. She’d had some issues with a broken hip and arthritis, but those things didn’t stop her.
“When she was 99, I asked her if she’d been to see a doctor, just for a check up,” Mr. Moss said. “She said she didn’t need to see a doctor because there was nothing wrong with her.”
Mr. Moss said his great-aunt “clearly had God’s favor during her life.”
“Some say she had good genes, but there were some with those same genes who never made it to 70,” he said. “She always had the favor of God, there’s just no other way to describe it.”
Mrs. Ray is also survived by a host of other great-nieces and nephews and extended family members.
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