Horace Ray Cavender

Horace Ray Cavender, 79 years of age, was a resident of Loudon, Tennessee. He passed away peacefully on Sunday September 25, 2022, at Parkwest Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. He is survived by daughters, Kimberly Ray Cavender of Knoxville Tennessee; Christine Elizabeth Anguiano (Ray) of Nashville Tennessee; grandson, Cassius Ray Anquiano, and ex-wife Sylvia Ann Cavender of San Ramon, California; other loving family members include his sisters, Patricia W. Steimer (Gary) of Farragut, TN; Brenda W. Thompson of Nashville, TN; Charlene W. Buhler (Alex) of Lebanon, TN; Katherine (Kitty) W. Copeland of Kingston, TN; Bina Marie Kirby of Harriman, TN; as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was born in Columbia, Tennessee on November 28, 1942 – son of Staff Sgt. Ernest Cavender and Mary Christine Rieves Cavender. Ernest died on active duty with the Army Air Corps in 1943. Preceded in death by his parents James Thomas and Christine Rieves Woods of (Midtown) Harriman, TN, as well as his brother J. T. Woods Jr. of Kingston Tennessee. He answered to names like Ray, Bubba, Horace, and Dude through his Roane County High School years (Kingston) and as a graduate of Tennessee Technological Institute (Cookeville). Oh yes, also “Fat Thunder” to his Indian Princesses “Little Sunbeam” and “Little Snowflake” (later- as a devoted Dad). Jobs went from a business degree in Tennessee to his first job in a factory for prefabricated houses then at Lad & Dad Slacks company in Georgia. It was in Ashburn Ga. that he was offered a position with Levi Strauss eventually was transferred to California, and held the position of Director of Manufacturing in the Docker’s Division at the time of his retirement in 1997. As a man of many interests and talents, he enjoyed cooking, travel, art, photography, old cars and trucks, football, golf, tennis and gardening. He proudly contributed to community groups like Jaycees and SCORE, as well as serve as a board member for Michael Dunn Center. Visitation with the Family will be at Kyker Funeral Home in Kingston, TN on Saturday, October 8, 2022, at 2:00 P.M. EST. A celebration of Life to follow. On October 9, 2022, a graveside service will be held at 3:00 P.M. CST in Rose Hill Cemetery in Columbia, TN. Oakes & Nichols Funeral Directors are assisting the family with arrangements in Columbia. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials in his name to the Michael Dunn Center, Support for Individuals Living with Disabilities and Challenges in East Tennessee. www.michaeldunncenter.org