Noel Blaine Dray

Noel Blaine Dray, 83, of Vienna, departed this life on Tuesday, March 24, 2009, after waging a 15 year battle with cancer.

He was born in East Liverpool, Ohio, and moved to Parkersburg as a young boy.  Blaine was an army veteran of WWII having participated in the European Theatre at Omaha Beach (Normandy), Germany, France, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg and in the Asiatic-Pacific Theatre in Okinawa.  He was a member of the Rainbow Division and the 38th Signal-Light Construction Battalion where he was a chief lineman in charge of telephone and telegraph communications.  He also enlisted after the war in the U.S. Navy Reserve at Norfolk, VA.  After the war, he worked for his father at Dray’s Electric Company in Parkersburg and also worked for Allegheny, Monongahela and Appalachian Power Companies.

In 1950, he became an electrician, joined the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 968 and soon went to work on construction of the new E. I. Dupont Plant at Washington Works.  He became the General Foreman in charge of construction and retired there in 1989.

He was preceded in death by his parents Edna Williams Dray and Harry Harrison Dray, two brothers:  Gale and Norman, and most recently by his wife of nearly 50 years, Wanda Longaberger Dray.

Blaine is survived by their daughter Connie.

Graveside services will be held at East Lawn Memorial Park in Marietta on Thursday (March 26) at 10:30 am.  McClure-Schafer-Lankford Funeral Home, Marietta, is assisting with arrangements.  On line condolences may be shared at:  www.mslfuneralhome.com