Ray L. Sutton

Ray Lee Sutton, a lifelong resident of Spokane, passed away at the age of 69 on Tuesday, October 20, 2020, in Spokane, Washington. He was born to William Fred and Helen Elsie (Russell) Sutton on July 11, 1951, in Spokane.

Ray graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in 1969 and then went on to study radio and television at Eastern Washington University. He married Marianne Devenere on April 6, 1973 in Spokane and together they raised three children. Ray served in the U.S. Air Force from February 8, 1974 to July 3, 1986 and was stationed at Mather Air Force Base in Sacramento, CA and Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane. While serving, Ray worked as a Hospital Administration Manager. He later worked in electronics assembly at Keytronics & Agilent Technologies.

Ray was a singer, songwriter, poet, performer, and actor. He appeared as an extra in the movie Vision Quest. He was the lead singer of Ray & The Cruisers, Shadow Hawk, and Ray & The Rock-its. He also performed in The Don King Show; Northwest Entertainers-Illusions of Elvis; Presley Kline & the Rockabellies. He was a HUGE Elvis fan.

Ray was known for his sense of humor, quick wit, and snappy comebacks. He was kind and generous to a fault. He was an animal lover, an avid genealogist, a movie buff, a trivia buff (“The Professor”) and a music aficionado (aka “The Human Jukebox”). Ray was quite the man, was well-loved, and will be truly missed by many!

Ray was preceded in death by his parents, William and Helen Sutton; brothers, Vern Sutton and Lou Sutton; and sisters, Wanda Tafoya, Carol Shaw, LaVonne Thomas, and Florence Latting. He is survived by his wife, Marianne Sutton; children, Lesley Schmidt, Paco Sutton, and Ben Sutton; brother, Alfred Pease; sister, Barbara Mankin; two grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

A viewing for family and friends will be held from 4:00-8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 4, 2020, at Hennessey Valley Funeral Home, 1315 N Pines Rd, Spokane Valley. The funeral service will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, November, 5, 2020, however due to current statewide restrictions, this will be a private service. For those not attending in-person, the live video stream of the service can be viewed by clicking the link below (the video won't start until 11:25 a.m. on 11/5/2020).

Memorial donations are suggested to the Alzheimer’s Association, Washington State Chapter, 19031 33rd Ave W #301, Lynnwood, WA 98036.

Please share your memories of Ray on his Tribute Wall (and it's okay to share more than one).