Ray Lavern Blakeney of Edmond, Oklahoma, (79) passed away on July 6, 2024. Born in Clarendon, Texas, to Jewel Ruth (Barksdale) and C.Y. Blakeney, Ray’s earliest memories were of the family farm in Acorn, Arkansas. When Ray was 8 years old, the family moved to Mena, Arkansas. He graduated from Mena High School and attended Oklahoma Christian University before entering military service.

In 1965, Ray joined the United States Navy where he quickly excelled in his training as a corpsman. His skills were so good he was attached to the Marine Corps as that branch does not have medical personnel. In October 1967, Ray shipped out to Vietnam. Wherever his Marine unit went, Ray went too. He saw the Tet offensive at its height, was wounded but not so severe as to warrant a discharge. He witnessed things no 21 year old should see and saved countless lives. 

After completion of his military service, Ray joined the Midwest City Police Department. He soon rose in the ranks to Sergeant. After 10 years on the force, he took a job as an investigator for the Medical Examiner in Oklahoma City. Before long, he was supervising all the investigators and eventually became the Director of Operations. Ray served this office for 30 years. He made sure families were treated with respect when their loved ones ended up at the ME’s but his most impactful job was leading the recovery efforts following the Oklahoma City Bombing. Ray established the Family Assistance Center and helped countless family members deal with the loss of their loved ones. He was the public information spokesperson for the ME’s office and testified in Timothy McVeigh’s trial in Colorado. Ray went on to train thousands more on how to efficiently and compassionately deal with mass fatalities. He traveled to Canada, the Virgin Islands, Croatia, and all over the United States to share his knowledge on how to react when disaster strikes. He also worked as a tissue retrieval team leader for the American Red Cross for 12 years. After retiring from the ME’s office, Ray began working for LifeShare in 2004. He spent the next 11 years leading the tissue retrieval teams for LifeShare retiring for the second time in 2015. 

Ray developed his love of fishing as a young boy in Acorn where he spent many hours fishing the Ouachita River. He had a vacation home in the 1980s at Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma where he could fish. Ray also organized many fishing trips to Lake Texoma and later met his good friend the late Arley McMillan, who owned Fishing Trips of a Lifetime. Ray accompanied Arley to Iquitos in Peru, South America to fish the Amazon River, Lake Aguamilpa in Mexico and to the southern tip of Costa Rica to fish. The study in Ray’s home holds photos and trophy fish he caught throughout his lifetime.

Ray is preceded in death by his parents, Jewel (Barksdale) and C.Y. Blakeney, his brother Billy Blakeney and his brother Joe Blakeney. He is survived by his wife, Derinda Blakeney, son Eric (Natasha) Blakeney, daughter Jennifer (Erik) Welch, step-daughter Jamie (Sean) DeFonde, step-son Heath (Shannon) Lowe, nine grandchildren/step-grandchildren (Clara, Lily and Nicholas Welch, Azlynn Thomas and Kaeleb Ward, Gabriella and Makenzie DeFonde and Addison and Jackson Lowe, sister Neda Lomax, brother Tom Blakeney, sister Lou (Gene) Sullivan and many nieces, nephews, family and friends.


Fort Sill National Cemetery

Ray devoted his life to the service of others. A Navy corpsman attached to the Marines, he provided medical care to countless service members. After military service, Ray joined the Midwest City Police Department protecting and serving citizens for 10 years. Ray went on to serve as the Director of Operations for the Oklahoma Medical Examiner's office where he led recovery efforts following the Oklahoma City Bombing in April 1995. Ray was instrumental in establishing practices on how to efficiently and compassionately deal with mass fatalities. He especially focused on helping families in their worst moments. Ray loved his wife, family and friends deeply.

RAY LAVERNE BLAKENEY

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