Funeral services will be conducted at 1:00 PM Friday, May 1, 2026 at McDonald Funeral Home in Centerville with Bill McDonald officiating. Burial will follow at Breece Cemetery, Centerville, TN. The family will visit with friends from 3:00 – 8:00 PM on Thursday, April 30, 2026.

Ray was born October 2, 1937. He was the son of the late W.O. Roder and the late Myrtle Breece Roder of Centerville He married Opal Tarkington in June 1960 and was married to her for almost 60 years, until her passing in March 2020. They adopted two girls, Janese and Dianna, and had a son, Tony, extending the tradition in his own family as both Ray and his brother, Edward, were adopted.

After the passing of his father when he was only a sophomore in high school, he worked tirelessly with his mother to save their family farm and he lived and farmed there for the rest of his life. He was a high school football player who was a lifelong fan of the game, especially enjoying watching his son and grandson play. As a young adult he served in the Army National Guard for several years. Over his lifetime, he worked at Genesco, Tencon and the Hickman County Highway Department. He loved his wife, his children & grandchildren, his Savior & the church. He dedicated many years of service to the Twomey Church of Christ as both a deacon and an elder and attended Nunnelly Church of Christ several years as well. He and Opal genuinely loved people, and informally “adopted” many others over the years, from the children Opal babysat to neighbors in their community. His legacy will be all those he pointed toward the steadfast love and goodness of God.

He is survived by his daughters, Janese (Keith) of Franklin and Dianna (Lonnie) of Chattanooga, and son, Tony (Bonnie) of Hampshire. Grandchildren: Kasey Allen, Austin (Sara) Allen, Elliott (Baileah) McCeney, Caleb McCeney, Callie McCeney, Cole (Sadie) Davis, Abby Davis, Sadie Roder. Great-grandchildren: Koehn Allen, Jax Allen, Knox Allen.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, Edward Roder.