Willie Ray Shazier

Willie Ray Shazier was born in Chilhowie, Virginia on July 2, 1938 to late Theodore and Arviley Shazier. On Thursday morning October 1, 2015 after a period of declining health Willie Ray Shazier who was 77 years old went home to be with Lord. He was preceded in death by his wife Mary Ellen Shazier; one sister Bessie Hall and two brothers Hugh and Haskel Shazier. On December 8, 1959, Willie Ray married the love of his life Mary Ellen. They were married for 47 years and birthed seven wonderful children. His children along with his 15 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren were his pride and joy. He would often say with amazement “This all started from me”. He was proud of his family and all of their accomplishments. Willie held various positions and worked in various locations in the early years of his career; which included Emory and Henry College, the Ammunition Plant in Radford, the Southwestern State Hospital, and the Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg. For 28 years he worked at the Newport News Shipyard Logistics Department until he retired in 2007. Throughout his life, Willie Ray loved fishing. He would spend countless hours fishing. It didn’t matter if it was sunny or rainy day or night. If the fish were biting, he was fishing. While he was a good fisherman, he wasn’t the best at cleaning up the fish. Willie Ray loved life and a liked having a good time. He was very social and enjoyed going to all of the class reunions in Marion, VA. Family was very important to Ray and he was adamant about staying connected with his roots and would travel six hours each way to his hometown of Chilhowie as often as possible. While visiting in his hometown, he would make sure that he visited as many people as he could. Willie is survived by his children Ray (Carol), Willie (Venise), Darryl (Dee), Donnella Hughes (Mark), Janice, Johnathan, and Venica Shazier; grandchildren Jonathan, Joshua, Janna, Darryl Jr., Kiana, Mark, Isaiah, Jasmine, James, Janasa, Carlin, Auriel, Robert, RoShaun, and Aaliyah; great- grandchildren Amiya, Jonathan, Brianna, Fliona, Jalon, Javon, Jaleah, and Koa, father in law Curtis Montgomery, sister in laws Peggy Shazier and Delores Skipper, brother in laws Paul and Ronnie Montgomery, and a host of aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces. A viewing will be held at Carter Funeral Home 251 Richneck Rd., Newport News, VA 23608 on Wed. Oct 7, from 7-8PM. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 PM on Friday Oct, 9, 2015 at Fairview Baptist Church, Glade Springs, VA.