Ray Boggs

Ray Boggs, son of the late Charlie and Victoria Ingram Boggs, was born at Flint (Kingscreek), Kentucky, June 8, 1934. He entered eternal life Sunday, June 7, 2020, at Pikeville Medical Center, being 85 years, 11 months, and 30 days of age at the time of his passing.

He grew up in the Kingscreek community of Letcher County and graduated from Whitesburg High School in 1953. He attended Lee’s Junior College, then accepted his first teaching assignment at the one-room Upper Dry Fork School in the fall of 1954. After teaching for one year, he joined the United States Army, and was trained as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne. After serving in the military, he resumed his teaching career, teaching in several one-room schools throughout Letcher County, and married Ida Lillian Brown on May 23, 1959.

He was a 1963 graduate of Pikeville College. In 1964, he was among the first group of teachers assigned to Cowan Elementary, where he was also the school’s first coach, coaching football, basketball, and softball. As the coach, he was responsible for selecting the school’s Bulldog mascot and colors of blue and white. Some of his fondest memories as a coach were of the players from the 1960s and 70s. He retired in 1993 after teaching for 39 years.

Since his retirement, he enjoyed working on his farm and in his garden, especially raising tomatoes and making homemade spaghetti sauce, and spending time with his family. He was a longtime church deacon and was a member at Premium Baptist Church.

He is survived by his wife, Ida Lillian Boggs of Dry Fork; two sons, Stephen (Brenda) Boggs and Paul (Jennifer) Boggs, of Dry Fork; two grandchildren, Jessica (John) Goad of Ice and Shade (Jade) Boggs of Dry Fork; one brother, Danny (Carolyn) Boggs of UZ; one sister, Joyce (Robert) Cornett of Kingscreek; and a host of other relatives and friends to mourn his passing.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by one brother, Ivard Boggs, and three sisters, Vivian Combs, Reva Cornett, and Ina Hubbard.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday, June 10, 2020, at 11:00 AM at Letcher Funeral Home. Burial will follow in the Benjamin H. Brown Cemetery at Dry Fork. Since there will be no visitation services, a celebration of life event will be held at a later date. The family asks that attendees wear masks to the funeral and practice social distancing..