Mae Bell Ray entered the world on July 6, 1949, in Minter, Alabama. She was the youngest
child born to the union of the late Sarah Francis (Charles) Ray & Jimmie Ray, Sr.

The Ray family moved to Selma, AL in the late 1950s. Mae Bell attended Old Knox Elementary
School, New Knox Elementary School and R.B. Hudson High School. As a 14-year-old, she
learned about the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, AL that took the lives of
four little black girls. She was moved with compassion when she saw this on the news. She
asked her father if she could participate in the civil rights movement that made its way to Selma.
Her words were, “Papa, can I march?” to which he replied, “Only if your brother goes with you.”
In preparation for the upcoming march, she attended the mass meetings and sang in the
Freedom Choir along with her best friends Delois and Tina. During one of the meetings, she sat
in the choir stand directly behind the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She told Tina, “I bet you Dr.
King will shake my hand!” She tapped him on the shoulder and asked him if he would shake her
hand. He said, “yes,” shook her hand, and she told Tina that she would never wash dishes
again. Mae Bell and her brother Henry “Jack,” along with many thousands, made the 54-mile
march from Selma to Montgomery in March of 1965. One month after graduating from Hudson
High School in 1969, Mae Bell followed her older brothers to Akron, OH, where she quickly
became known to many as “Mary.” Through her brother Jimmie, she met the love of her life,
Lance W. Poole, in 1972. Ten years later, they welcomed their one and only child, Sedonia
Jeneé, into their world. Mary and Lance were married until he passed away unexpectedly on
November 12, 2001.

A caregiver by nature, Mary was employed by Fairlawn Chateau Nursing Home (now Wyant
Woods) in the early ‘70s as a nurse’s aide. In 1977, Mary began her employment with the State
of Ohio at Broadview Developmental Center, where she was a Therapeutic Program Worker.
After Broadview’s closing in 1993, she was transferred to Warrensville Developmental Center
and remained there until 2003. During her tenure, she garnered the respect and friendship of
many of her coworkers. She bookended her working years by caring for her mother’s sister,
Rebecca Charles, until Rebecca’s passing in 2015 at the age of 109.

Later in life, Mary recognized her need for a Savior. On July 7, 2013—one day after her 64th
birthday—she was saved and baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus at the Church of God
Militant Pillar and Ground of the Truth. There she became a faithful member under the pastorate
of Elder Henry Brunson. Momma Poole, as she was lovingly known, never sat idle but worked
hard at whatever her hands found to do. She served on the Pastor’s Aide Committee, worked in
the kitchen, cleaned the church, and was a teacher’s assistant in the children’s Sunday School
class. She loved and mothered every child and teenager who walked through the doors of the
church! No kid could slip past her without being called over, having their head or hand gently
grabbed, and being hugged and kissed.

After living a full and beautiful life marked by joy, laughter, care, kindness, a strong work ethic,
and unwavering love, Mary went to be with Jesus peacefully on the morning of Thursday,
September 4, 2025, with her daughter Sedonia at her side.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Lance W. Poole; her parents, Sarah and
Jimmie Ray, Sr.; her brothers, William, Wash, Herman, Jimmie Jr., Moses, Henry “Jack” Ray,
and Samuel Hunter; her sister, Ella Mae Murray; her special uncle, Richmond Charles; her
special aunt, Rebecca Charles; and her fur baby, Brandy.

She leaves to cherish and continue her legacy her daughter and devoted caregiver, Sedonia
Jeneé Poole of Akron, OH; her sisters, Evelyn Ray and Jacqueline Robinson of Selma, AL, and
Debra White of Hartford, CT; her brother, Roosevelt George of Hartford, CT; her father-in-law,
Bethel Poole of Akron; her sisters-in-law, Jennifer (Michael) Robinson of Stow, OH, Reneé
(Matthew) Pyle of Cuyahoga Falls, OH, and Pamela Ray of Akron; and her best friends/sisters,
Delois Williams of Selma, AL, Tina Beckles of Atlanta, GA, and Jackie Easley and Sandra Elie
of Akron. She also leaves behind MANY loving nieces, nephews, other relatives, friends,
coworkers, and her Church of God MPGT family.