| Obituary |
- Ray Coleman Mabey
( December 19, 1932 - March 01, 2023 )
On March 1, 2023, Ray Coleman Mabey, 90, passed away surrounded by loving family at Cookeville Regional Medical Center.
Ray would say he was a lover, not a
fighter. He treasured the word of God
and tried to live it. He studied scripture in English, Hebrew and Greek. In his younger years, his hobbies included a love for horses and dancing. As he grew older, he took to gardening. Ray would sing “It’s Howdy Doody Time” at the crack of dawn, and he told side-splitting jokes up to his final days. He designed and built his house in Cookeville and raised his children there, returning to live at the home until his death.
He was born December 19, 1932, amid the Great Depression in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada to the late Francis Burling Mabey and Florence Alexandra Searle. In 1954, Ray felt called to seminary and studied theology at Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. He transferred to Tennessee Temple College in Chattanooga where he obtained a bachelor of science degree in psychology in 1956. While there, he met his wife of nearly 50 years, Mable Johnson Mabey. He then studied at the University of Georgia where he graduated with a master’s degree in sociology in 1960.
Ray began a full-time ministry at the Baptist church in Arnoldsville, Georgia. He continued his ministry for nearly 40 years. He moved back to Tennessee in 1961 and became the pastor of First Baptist Church in Watertown before moving on to Madison to fill the minister position at Dickerson Road Baptist Church. In 1972, Ray moved his family to Cookeville to minister at the historic church on Broad Street known as Central Emmanuel Baptist Church until 1989. He then accepted a pastoral position at the Cookeville Christian Church.
While in Cookeville, Ray received an education specialist degree concentrating on psychology and counseling from Tennessee Technological University in 1980. He served as the executive director for the United Way of Cookeville from 1989 to 1991. After many years of volunteer counseling for Plateau Mental Health Center, he led the Step 2 Drug and Alcohol Counseling and Leaf Program for the Center. He also served on the advisory board for the Cookeville Rescue Mission. He was an officer and treasurer of the Cookeville Kiwanis Club. He served as president of the Volunteer Chaplains Association at Cookeville General Hospital and as president of the Putnam County Ministerial Association.
He is preceded in death by his twin brother Reginald Mabey of Naples, Florida, and his older brother Francis Mabey of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. He is survived by his five children: Reg Mabey (Dawn) of Glasgow, Kentucky; Greg Mabey of Berry Hill, Tennessee; Chris Mabey of McMinnville, Tennessee; Kim Klustner (John) of Johns Creek, Georgia; and Sheri Lynn Mabey of Cookeville, Tennessee. He was blessed with eight grandchildren who called him Grampy: Christopher, Chad, Chase, Cheyenne, Colton, and Colin Mabey as well as Alex and Clay Voytek. His two great grandchildren, Caleb and Cayman Mabey, were another joy in his life.
Funeral services will be held at Wesley Chapel of Cookeville United Methodist Church (former Central Emmanuel Baptist Church), 157 E. Broad Steet Cookeville Tn, 38501 at 1:00pm on Monday March 6, 2023. Visitation will be at Whitson Funeral Home on Sunday from 3:00pm until 7:00pm and at the Church on Monday from 11:00am until time of services at 1:00pm.
https://www.whitsonfuneralhome.com/obituary/ray-mabey
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1932 - 2023 (90 years)
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