{"id":43983,"date":"2026-08-11T09:14:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T14:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/?p=43983"},"modified":"2026-08-11T09:14:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T14:14:54","slug":"steven-m-ray-sr-73-of-jewett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/obits\/43983-steven-m-ray-sr-73-of-jewett\/","title":{"rendered":"Steven M. Ray, Sr. (73) of Jewett"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pdfprnt-buttons pdfprnt-buttons-post pdfprnt-top-right\"><a href=\"javascript: window.print()\" class=\"pdfprnt-button pdfprnt-button-print\" target=\"_self\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-print\/images\/print.png\" alt=\"image_print\" title=\"Print Content\" \/><span class=\"pdfprnt-button-title pdfprnt-button-print-title\">Print<\/span><\/a><\/div><p>Steven M. Ray Sr., 73, of Jewett, IL passed away at 4:11 pm on Thursday August 6, 2026, at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center in Mattoon.<\/p>\n<p>Funeral services will be held at 2:00 pm on Friday August 14, 2026, at the Barkley Funeral Chapel in Greenup. There will be a one-hour visitation beginning at 1:00 pm prior to the service. The burial will be in the Hazel Dell Cemetery. The Barkley Funeral Chapel in Greenup is assisting the family.<\/p>\n<p>Steven was born on May 24, 1953, in Peoria, IL to Frances Elvis and Ruth (Moon) Ray. He married Lorie Menin on December 28, 1996.<\/p>\n<p>Survivors include his loving wife, Lorie; loving mother Ruth Ray; son Steven (Michelle) Ray Jr; daughters Candice (Corey) Chapman and Stephanie Lynn Zubia; grandchildren: Noah Louis Ray Chapman, Braysen James Ray, Ryland Elvis Ray, Katlyn Irene St. Clair, Justin Monroe Chapman, Korie Renee Strauch, Alexander Toussaint, Samantha Nicloe Toussaint, Ashley Brook Toussaint, and Zachary Adam Toussaint; two great grandchildren; and siblings: Linda, Colleen, David, Martha, Brenda, Joyce, Shelia, Karen, and Sharon.<\/p>\n<p>He was preceded in death by his father Frances; and siblings Doug and Becky.<\/p>\n<p>Steven worked\/ traveled all over the United States as an insurance catastrophe adjuster for (Pilot Services Inc.) Allstate for over 30 years, while also owning three businesses: Ray\u2019s Autobody in Peoria, IL, Colorado Collison Center, in Denver, CO., and Pops Custom LLC in Illinois. In his free time, he loved to restore old cars with his grandson Noah. Steven lived a life of three men. One of his greatest ambitions was to become a professional baseball player before sustaining a rotator cuff injury. After his injury he continued his love of the game by becoming a coach, and sponsoring teams with his businesses. Steven had a heart of gold and never knew a stranger, always treating you as family. His greatest achievement was his family and he will be missed dearly.<\/p>\n<p>Memorials can be made to the family C\/O Barkley Funeral Chapel.<\/p>\n<p>Online condolences can be expressed at www.barkleyfuneralchapels.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Steven M. Ray Sr., 73, of Jewett, IL passed away at 4:11 pm on Thursday August 6, 2026, at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center in Mattoon. Funeral services will be [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":43984,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-obits"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Steven M. 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