Henry Ray Garner Sr. was born March 30, 1949 to Henry Allen and Narcy Reid Garner of Meridian MS, and he passed away peacefully on June 20, 2019.  Ray attended South East Lauderdale High School where he graduated in 1967, then served in the Mississippi Air National Guard 186th Tactical Reconnaissance Group. He married Jennifer Marshall on December 20, 1968 and were married until her death in 2018, two weeks shy of their fiftieth wedding anniversary.

Ray and Jennifer have two children, Kathi Bushway and her husband Rob of Tupelo, MS and Hank Garner and his wife Dawn of Meridian. Ray and Jennifer have nine grandchildren: Dax Bushway, Ian Garner, Maggie Bushway, Lauren Garner, Chloe Garner, Anna Kathryn Bushway, Jessica Garner, Zoe Bushway and Noah Garner.

Ray owned Garner Auto Sales and spent most of his career as a car salesman. He was affectionately known by his customers as a "southern gentleman". Ray, as he was known, was a lover of practical jokes, juicy gossip, cars, tall tales, and collecting and selling books and oddities on E-bay. He taught his children the importance of hard work, a strong work ethic, and the importance of laughter. He would readily admit that his grandchildren were his greatest accomplishment.

While Ray was an only child, and but a single family-branch, he passes on to the next world leaving behind a mighty tree with many branches that will carry on his sense of humor, name, and legacy.

The family wishes to express their deep gratitude to the staff at Care Center of Aberdeen for their kindness and compassion towards their father.

A memorial service for Ray will be held on Sunday, June 30 at 2:00 pm at Gospel Lighthouse Church, 2207 23 ^rd Avenue, Meridian, MS. Honorary pallbearers: Dax Bushway, Ian Garner, and Noah Garner