Clifford Ray Sumner
Clifford Ray Sumner was born on September 11, 1912 on a farm in Arditta, Howell County, Missouri, the second child of ten children born to William Stanley Sumner and Frankie May Wilson. William Stanley was a grandson of Orren Dates Bridges, who was born in Trigg County, Kentucky. Ray grew up on the family farm and attended a one-room school in Cureall, Missouri.
For two years prior to finishing high school, Ray hopped aboard freight trains and travelled over the country, working for his meals and lodgings and enjoyed new places and adventures.
In 1934, Ray joined the U.S. Army where he was stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma from boot camp until his discharge as a master sergeant in 1937. Upon leaving the military, Ray married Frances Maurine Sullivan on July 11, 1937. Their son, Tommy Ray Sumner was born in 1938 and they had a daughter, Carole Ann Sumner, born in 1946.
When World War II began, Ray was recalled to his regiment where he served in Africa, Italy, France and Germany. Ray was a top ranking NCO and was promoted to Second Lieutenant during the end of his military tour.
After the war, Ray and his family settled in Bristow, Oklahoma where he opened a grocery store. However, Ray soon tired of working inside, so he and his father-in-law sold the store and moved both of their families to Costa Mesa, California in 1946. Ray, along with his brother-in-law owned a boat manufacturing company. After several years, business was slow and they changed from building boats to building kitchen cabinets and the business flourished. In 1951, Ray left the manufacturing business and went to work for the Metcalf Company who built large commercial buildings. One of Ray’s favorite assignments was the building of the Prudential Insurance Building on Wilshire Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles.
The day after the completion of the insurance building, Ray left the construction company and moved his family to Yucca Valley, California. There Ray worked as a general contractor building houses. In March of 1960, Ray took a job as a building inspector for San Bernardino County. Fourteen months later, he received a job offer to work as a construction superintendent for Homestead Supplies in Banning, California. This job required a lot of travel and in 1963 Ray went back to working for himself as a general contractor. That same year he and his wife Maurine were divorced. He later met Mary Ann Miller, whom he married on December 7, 1968 in Los Angeles. Ray and Mary moved to Baldwin Park, California where he worked in the switch room for General Telephone. After five years, he was unhappy working inside again, so he and Mary moved to Big Bear, California where they both worked for Homestead Supplies. In 1976, Ray and Mary were divorced.
Ray married his third wife, Hazel Huff Baxter on April 5, 1980. On March 10, 1982 Ray and Hazel were riding their Harley Davidson motorcycle when they were involved in a traffic accident. Ray sustained a massive brain injury and was in a coma for five months. After he regained consciousness, he was allowed to return home.
Ray did well until the summer of 1986 when he slowly regressed by not talking or being able to walk. In October of 1986 Ray was put into a convalescent center in Yucca Valley.
Later that year, Ray caught pneumonia and died in his sleep on December 20, 1968 at the age of 74 years. He was buried in the Joshua Tree Memorial Park in Joshua Tree, California. His wife, Hazel, died in 2007 and was buried next to him.
Tombstone of Ray and Hazel Sumner
Ray, Maurine and son, Tommy
Ray and his third wife, Hazel, in the 1980s
LINEAGE: (Clifford Ray Sumner was the son of William Stanley and Frankie May Wilson Sumner, the grandson of Aaron Cornelius and Martha Caroline Bridges Sumner and the great-grandson of Orren Dates and Mary Elizabeth Hixon Bridges. Orren was the first child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges. William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cahoon Bridges. Mary was the fifth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)
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