Cody D. Ray, 35, of Hillsboro, died on Saturday, March 20, 2021, at 10:34 a.m. at Hillsboro Area Hospital.
Visitation will be held Wednesday, March 24, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Bass Patton Dean Funeral Home in Hillsboro. Funeral services will follow, beginning at 12 p.m. at the funeral home with the Rev. Konrad Faries officiating. Military rites will be conducted. CDC guidelines will be followed, including social distancing and masks.
Mr. Ray was born Jan. 12, 1986, in Lake of the Ozarks, MO, to Dennis Ray and Mandy (Sanders) Smith.
He joined the Army National Guard his junior year of high school. He graduated from Hillsboro High School with the class of 2006, and later served 18 months in Afghanistan as an infantryman, specializing in Raven Pilot UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle).
Mr. Ray became a carpenter, having worked on the restoration of the Red Rooster in Hillsboro. He was an ordained minister and was of the Methodist faith. He was also an inventor and an accomplished artist and owner of Designing Smiles.
He enjoyed the Missouri rivers and floating with his fur baby, Paco. During his lifetime, he resided in Buckhorn, MO, and Hillsboro.
Mr. Ray was a devoted son, brother, nephew, cousin and friend to all who crossed his path.
He is survived by his father of Buckhorn, MO; mother of Hillsboro; brothers, Nathaniel Ray of Missouri and Austin Grabow of Hillsboro; maternal grandparents, Ray and Doris Fishback of Richland, MO; paternal grandparents, Jimmie (Gerry) Ray of Missouri; and aunts, uncles and several cousins.
Memorials may be directed to the family.
Online condolences to the family may be left at www.basspattondeanfh.com.
