Ray Jones

Raymond ‘Ray’ Jones, age 78, of Freeville, NY, passed away on July 28, 2025.

He was born on November 18, 1946, in Passaic, NJ, to Ray and Norma Jones. Ray is survived by his wife, Rita, and his children, Ray and Kym.

Ray attended LaSalle University and worked in the basketball industry as a coach and scout for decades. Although he enjoyed hunting and fishing, both hobbies he shared with his late father, he was never happier than when he was on a basketball court. Ray always said he had never worked a day in his life because he was doing what he loved.

Ray was known for being able to talk any kind of ball, whether basketball, baseball, or football. Ray would cheer or curse at the TV as his beloved Yankees and New York Giants played and he was as loyal to them as he was to his beliefs in honesty, hard work, and his oft-repeated expression, “I’d rather be lucky than good.”

Although a tough coach, Ray had a soft spot for young children and animals. He was a member of a Beagles Club as a youth, and he unexpectedly found a very close friend in his cat, Sissy, later in life.

We hope he is reunited with his previously departed family members, his beagles, his beloved Sissy and that, of course, he’s somewhere on a basketball court watching bygone stars play, spinning a towel above his head to amp up the crowd.