Joel Karnick
aymond C. Dums
Age 85, passed away June 4 at Rivers Edge Rehab center in Park Falls following a lingering illness.
Ray was born March 23, 1939 to Carl and Lucille (Hahn) Dums at their home in the township of Eisenstein. He attended St. Anthony School through grade 8 and graduated from Park Falls Lincoln High School in 1958. He moved to Milwaukee to find work and was employed at ClevePak, a manufacturer of cardboard containers, in Milwaukee and then Indiana until his retirement.
On December 11, 1965 he married Geraldine Felzer in Milwaukee shortly before entering the U.S. Army. Of his military service Ray said the most exciting thing that happened to him during his military service was being one of the MPs guarding the train Elvis Presley was travelling on from France to Germany.
An avid and successful hunter, he spent many hunting seasons in the Northwoods pursuing whitetail deer and rabbits. In rabbit hunting he was accompanied by his three beagles, Candy, Susie and Pete. In the 1980s and 1990s he took several hunting trips to Wyoming with his brother Rick and a group of friends in pursuit of antelope and mule deer.
Ray greatly enjoyed following Wisconsin sports teams, especially the Milwaukee Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, and Green Bay Packers. He often spoke, even in later years, of watching left-handed hurler Warren Spahn, and declared that outfielder and Milwaukee folk hero “Stormin” Gorman Thomas could have run for and been elected mayor of Milwaukee, even after his trade to the Cleveland Indians, he was that popular with fans. Ray’s love for the Packers was long-standing. He followed them through the glory days quarterback play of Bart Starr, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, right up to looking forward to what Jordan Love would do in his second year as starting quarterback.
Upon his retirement Ray had moved back to the town of Eisenstein permanently. During that time one of the greatest joys in his life was his horses, Blackjack, Stoney and Lil’ Bit. In times of better health, he spent countless hours horseback riding, especially with his good friend and fellow Eisensteiner, Bernie Hilgart.
Ray is survived by his wife, Gerrie, one daughter, Cathy (Randy) Rose of Butternut, three sisters Marge (John) Tervo of Plover, Mary (Sam) Bielke of Gresham and Dolly (Jeff) Tapplin of Ratherum, ID, one brother Rick (Karen) Dums of Park Falls, by step-grandchildren, step-great-grandchildren and numerous nieces, nephews, and friends. He was preceded in death by his father Carl in 1974, his mother Lucille in 2013, and his sister Shirley (Glen) Whitmer of Rhinelander in 2024.
A celebration of life will be held on Saturday July 13, 2024 at the Park Falls American Legion Hall beginning at 1:00pm. A visitation will be held from 12:00pm until the celebration of life.
The family would like to thank the attending physicians, nurses, CNAs and other staff at both River’s Edge and Marshfield Medical-Park Falls Center for their diligent care and compassion shown to Ray in his final days. Their assistance allowed him to leave this earth with a measure of dignity in place. It will not be forgotten.
Birch Street Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.
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