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Cheryl C. Ray, 70, of Sevierville, Tennessee, formerly of Mentor, Ohio, died Friday, Jan. 13, 2023.
Born Feb. 14, 1952 in Mexico City, Mexico, she was the daughter of the late Dorothy and Clyde Coutant and grew up on the Dixie Girl, a schooner sailboat that was docked in Stuart, FL, during the school year where she made all-state as a clarinet player and was the high school salutatorian.
Cheryl held a master’s degree in teaching in biology and math from Stetson University, where she taught biology for four years. While teaching at Stetson, she enrolled in a chemistry course at Cornell University and attended a chemistry department picnic where she met her husband of 40 years, James Ray, who survives.
A life-long teacher and learner, she taught at Lakeland Community College for 23 years and was just one course shy of becoming a certified Southern
Appalachian Naturalist.
Cheryl, an environmental advocate and avid hiker, was a former president of the Blackbrook Audubon Society and Burroughs Nature Club. She was integral in the preservation of the Mentor Lagoons leading to its designation as a national natural landmark. She served as chairman on the Mentor city tree commission, spearheaded a campaign to provide curbside recycling for the community of Pinegate in Mentor, and assisted in the development of the Orchard Hollow Elementary land lab.
She most recently volunteered with Discover Life in America in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
She was a 30-year member of the United Methodist Church.
Cheryl was a loving wife and mother with a smiling, welcoming face, who, in addition to her husband, is survived by sons, Anthony (Allison) Ray of Moreland Hills, Ohio and Nathaniel (Neila) Ray of Highlands Ranch, Colorado; a special niece, Lenalee (Noah Kozenko) Christenson of Mentor, Ohio; a sister, Glenora (Glenn) Neff of Dade City, Florida; a sister-in-law, Beverly Coutant of North Haven, Connecticut and other nieces and nephews.
In addition to her parents, Cheryl is preceded in death by a brother, Andrew Coutant, and sister, Michelle Coutant.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations to the Audubon Society, Friends of the Smokies, Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont or World Wildlife Fund.
