Charles Ray Smith, 91, of Fayetteville, Tennessee, passed away Oct. 24, 2024, at his home.

He was born to the late Robert Austin Smith and Pauline (Vanzant) Smith May 15, 1933, in Fayetteville, Tennessee.

He grew up in Fayetteville, Tennessee, and graduated from Central High School. He received his BA in physics in 1953 from Vanderbilt University where he was Phi Beta Kappa and graduated Magna Cum Laude. He obtained his Masters of Science Degree from Vanderbilt University in 1956. He was a Fulbright Scholar at Universitat Erlangen in Germany and worked as an aeronautical research engineer and physicist at Redstone Arsenal prior to obtaining his PhD in physics in 1967 at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado.

He married Peggy Jane Mullins Oct. 11, 1958, in Fayetteville, Tennessee. They moved to Colorado in 1960, where he worked for the National Bureau of Standards while studying for his physics doctorate. He was appointed to a professorship in theoretical physics at the University of Wyoming in Laramie in 1964, where he remained for 21 years, specializing in Maximum-Entropy and Bayesian methods research. They had two sons, Mark and Paul.

In 1985, Ray and Peggy moved back to Tennessee to be closer to family. He was a senior scientist in theoretical and applied physics and mathematics at Redstone Arsenal until his retirement in 2000. Among other areas of research, he helped lead a team that contributed to developing the guidance system for the Patriot missile system. He wrote and contributed to at least 55 research books and papers on physics. In addition to the University of Wyoming, he taught courses at the University of Mississippi and University of California at Berkeley. He was also a visiting research fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. In 1974, he was a visiting scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in the Plasma Theory Group.

He was an avid outdoorsman. When they lived in Wyoming, it was common for the entire family to spend weekends and holidays in the mountains hiking, fishing, hunting, and camping. His first grandchild was born in 1989. He loved being a grandfather and a teacher. When his youngest grandson asked him to explain the hypotenuse of a right triangle he patiently explained it in terms that a 10-year-old could understand.

Survivors include son, Dr. Mark Smith Flair (Diahn Malcom Flair), Fayetteville; son, Paul Smith (Cary-Berry-Smith) Douglas, Wyoming; grandsons, Gentry and Clifford Smith of Douglas, Wyoming, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his father, Robert Austin Smith; mother, Pauline (Vanzant) Smith; wife, Peggy Jane Smith; and grandsons, Austin Dale Smith and Kyle Robert Smith.