Prairie View Country Cemetery

Woodward County, Oklahoma

© Billings Funeral Home
Submitted by: Terry Dudley

Ray Oland Blakley

October 3, 1939 - July 21, 2026

Ray Oland Blakley, age 86, passed away working out on his farm July 21, 2026. The family will have a private graveside burial at Prairie View Country Cemetery. A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, July 25 at Woodward First Methodist Church at 10:00 a.m. with a family visitation following.

Born on October 3, 1939, in Woodward, Oklahoma, Ray was the youngest son of Kenneth and June (Mitchell) Blakley. From birth, growing up on a dairy farm, he learned a strong work ethic and love for the Lord. Ray lived a life defined by hard work, church activities, and dad jokes. He grew up in Woodward never venturing too far from his Home Place. He attended Woodward High School where he played basketball and was active in FFA. He attended a year of college at Panhandle State University before returning to Woodward to start his career.

Ray's first marriage to Reta Holt produced two sons. Later, after a short courtship, Ray married the love of his life, Wanda, in June, 1964. They blended their two families of four children, added two more children, and became their own "Blakley Bunch." Ray and Wanda made a life on a farm less than a mile from where he grew up. Throughout their marriage they had horses, cattle, pigs, and sheep. The children helped with the animals and showed them in 4-H. Later they added chickens, rabbits, and goats not to mention all the dogs and cats along the way. Ray and Wanda cherished the time they had with their original miniature horses, Rambo and Ophelia. It brought them both joy when classrooms would come to visit the animals on the farm. At one time in life, Ray spent just as must time talking to animals as he did people. He was a true Oklahoman and thought Northwest Oklahoma was God's country.

After spending over 34 years with Southwestern Bell, Ray retired in 1995 and became more active in church activities. Church and his faith remained a priority as Ray helped lead and participate in several Emmaus walks and was a member of The Stephen Ministry team. He was on staff for several years at the First United Methodist Church and helped them move to the current location on Downs. Ray was touched when the church used white bricks from his family home to make the cross on the east side. He spent several years as a visiting pastor, preached in over 26 churches including Hooker, Goodwell, and multiple denominations. Beginning in 2001, Ray was a pastor of Sharon and Mutual Methodist churches for several years. Ray was also known for being a junior and high school football and basketball official, participated in the prison ministry at Fort Supply, 15 years as the chaplain for City of Woodward Police Department, and was a member of the Crystal Christmas Committee for 20 years.

Ray's children remember his ability to talk to animals. He was active at Kid's Inc as a coach of his son's football teams and a high school basketball team. The family spent time on the driveway playing basketball and hours in the backyard playing football. Ray could fix almost anything, kept everything, and would reuse, recycle, or upcycle anything. And boy did he like finding "treasures" along the highway. "You never know when you might need this."

He is survived by his oldest brother, Malcolm (Dee) Blakley and siblings Larry (Carolyn) Thornton and Nancy McCormick of Woodward. Children Elise (Robert) Solloway of Woodward; Catherine (Owen Harper) Blakley of St. Croix, VI; Nikita West of Victoria, TX; Ray A Blakley and Ralph (Vicki) Blakley of Dallas, TX; June (Greg) Black of Normal, IL, and Ted (Rebekah) Blakley of Hutchinson, KS. Ray's eight grandchildren include Jon Solloway, Nick (Maddie) Blakley, Karen (Tanner) Temby, Kylie Black, and Emma (Jake), Thaddaeus, Esther, and Benjamin Blakley. There are four great grandchildren Jack and Avery Solloway and Reagan and Colton Temby. Additionally, the family includes several nieces, nephews, and cousins.

He was reunited in death with his beautiful wife Wanda, parents Kenneth and June Blakley Thornton, stepfather Ralph Thornton, brother Kenny (Lois) Blakley, long time companion Janet Lively, and several other family members.

One special joy was the trip Ray and Wanda took to Jerusalem. Some of Ray's happiest memories were from the farm. He loved being outside and enjoyed raising animals and helping with the family farm. In his later years, he treasured activities at the church and visits from his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. He was an avid basketball fan and could watch game after game whether it was live or a game from several years ago. Ray had a special connection with the moon and was constantly looking for it in the sky and keeping up with the moon's schedule. In his most recent years, he enjoyed road trips to see Northwest Oklahoma landscapes. He loved being a passenger and would spend time counting fence post to tee post ratios.

The family requests no plants or flowers. Instead consider making memorial donations to First Methodist Church of Woodward or any charity to support children with the funeral home accepting the contributions.

This site may be freely linked, but not duplicated in any way without consent.
All rights reserved! Commercial use of material within this site is prohibited!
© 2000-2026 Oklahoma Cemeteries

The information on this site is provided free for the purpose of researching your genealogy. This material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, for your own research, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The information contained in this site may not be copied to any other site without written "snail-mail" permission. If you wish to have a copy of a donor's material, you must have their permission. All information found on these pages is under copyright of Oklahoma Cemeteries. This is to protect any and all information donated. The original submitter or source of the information will retain their copyright. Unless otherwise stated, any donated material is given to Oklahoma Cemeteries to make it available online. This material will always be available at no cost, it will always remain free to the researcher.