Simon G. Ray, 49, transitioned to eternal life on August 2, 2023 unexpectedly of severe coronary disease with an undiagnosed heart condition.

He was born on December 24, 1973 in Newport News, Virginia. He grew up in Gloucester, graduated from Gloucester High School Class of 1992.

He earned the rank of Eagle Scout and was a member of Troop 133, Achilles, Va. Simon attended the National Boy Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill in 1989. For his Eagle Scout project, he, along with members of his troop, built a nature trail in the Abingdon Recreational Park. This benefitted students at the school in learning about nature while enhancing their physical fitness, providing a place to relax, hike and study nature.

In high school, he attended the Model UN program in Washington, D.C. Between his junior and senior year, he went to Moscow, Russia, to live with a Russian family for six weeks as part of the Youth For Understanding program. This afforded him an opportunity to learn and more importantly, understand, the mindset of the average Russian and not what their government wanted you to see. His impressions were a sad, black and white world with “…nothing in the store, cloudy with lots of rain.” A member of the Russian army came to visit a friend while he was there. “What he told me was that if the Russians and U.S. went to war with one another they would desert, … because the people love Americans and don’t want to fight them.” This is very much the same as what we see happening in Ukraine today with Russian soldiers deserting because they don’t want to fight their own countrymen.

Simon graduated from George Mason University, class of 1996. In keeping with his desire to serve, he completed additional studies to become an RN in 2012. Not having seen much of the U.S., he decided to become a travel nurse, spending five years in eight states, eventually finding a place to put roots down in the small town of Twin Falls, Idaho, working as a psychiatric nurse for St. Luke’s Behavioral Health Hospital for the past five years. He was considered a “beloved” friend and valued member of the staff and all the patients under his care loved him. He cared for them with a lot of humor and understanding. After three years he was promoted to Charge Nurse.

On Sept. 20, 2023, Simon was posthumously granted his Bachelor of Science nursing degree from Western Governors University.

Survivors are parents, Paul and Marcia Ray; sister, Carmen (Harris) and niece, Elena Charalambous; uncle, Dennis (Jeri) Ray; cousins, Sharon (Ron) Griffis and Mona Ray.

Simon helped create a place where lives are saved, courage is rewarded, humor and optimism triumph over greed and self-pity. He had a subtle sense of humor and a great deal of kindness. He made you laugh, cry, and care. Where warmth and sympathy render the daily struggles of ordinary people heroic.

Simon was good at turning hurts into halos.