OBITUARY: Edward Clay McRae

Mr. Edward Clay McRae, 80, passed away peacefully on Sept. 2, 2024 in the memory care wing of Aldersgate assisted living community in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Ed was born on July 11, 1944 in Hamlet, North Carolina, to Clay Oliver McRae and Alma Williams McRae.

He was predeceased by his parents; his wife, Linda Haddock McRae; his youngest child, Michael McRae; and his brother, David McRae.

He is survived by his son, Steven Clay McRae (Ann); his daughter, Catherine Luckenbaugh (George); his daughter-in-law, Pati Solis-McRae; his grandchildren, Bruce Clay McRae, Flora Haddock McRae, Gustaf Paolo McRae, Scott Macon McRae, Cassandra Penelope McRae, Elizabeth Smitha Luckenbaugh; step-grandchild, Andy Marquez-McRae; sister, Martha Herndon (James); nieces Kristi Wagers and Mica Way; nephew, Ashley Neal McRae; and friend, Shirley Lassiter.

Ed was raised in the loving care of his parents as well as his large and extended family on Wiregrass Road in Hamlet. He spent his childhood playing ball and roaming around the longleaf pines and wiregrass that grew around “the pond” located on the land that makes up our family’s homeplace.

Ed was the apple of his mother’s eye. He and his sister, Martha, and brother, David, grew up surrounded by lots of room to ramble and play, as well as many extended family members who lived all around them. Ed’s grandparents were Henry Clay and Florence Boyle McRae, and his great aunts and uncles were uncle John (Nancy Boyle), uncle Robert (Tommie), aunt Maggie (Edwin Kelly), aunt Nancy, uncle Scott (Letha Wilkes), uncle Luther, uncle George (Ruth Terry), aunt Mattie (William Samuels) and uncle Walter Raleigh. The McRae family of Ed’s childhood was a large and loving group to be a part of.

Seaboard Railroad was important to Ed’s family. His father and grandfather, along with many other family members, worked for the railroad. Even more important to Ed was Marks Creek Presbyterian Church. His family were members of Marks Creek for generations, and he grew up in the loving embrace of his church family. Homecoming Sunday in September at Marks Creek was one of the most important dates on our family’s calendar.

Ed graduated from Hamlet High School in 1962. After high school, Ed attended St. Andrew’s College in Laurinburg, from 1962 to 1966, where he played baseball and graduated with a degree in business. Following college, Ed served in the United States Army from 1966 to 1968. Ed was a member of the Berlin Brigade and, while in Germany, took the opportunity to see life outside of the Sandhills of North Carolina by travelling throughout Europe.

Following his military service, Ed returned home and met Linda Haddock, who had moved to Richmond County from the tobacco farm on which she grew up in eastern North Carolina. Linda worked at Richmond Community College as a librarian, and Ed met her while looking for a book recommended to him by a friend.

Ed and Linda were married on Aug. 3, 1969 and on Sept. 15, 1970, bought a small house in the Ashton Forest neighborhood off of Raeford Road just outside of Fayetteville, North Carolina, where Ed had taken a job with Nationwide Insurance. Linda began a career as an elementary school librarian with the Cumberland County School System. Ed, Linda, and their three children moved to the Cypress Lakes community in Grays Creek, North Carolina, in 1983, where Ed lived until his move to Aldersgate in June of 2023.

Ed was a very personal and private man. He loved deeply. He had a sharp, dry sense of humor. He was always glad to be of service and took delight in the success of those around him. He was deeply loyal. He was competitive. He loved sports and coached his children in baseball and basketball. He was an athletic man himself and enjoyed playing basketball, tennis and golf (particularly at Scothurst in Lumber Bridge).

While we will miss our father dearly, and regret that we will not be able to see him one last time, we are grateful that he passed peacefully in his sleep, is in the hands of our God, that he is reunited with his dearly departed family, and that he will not have to wake up to face another day with Alzheimer’s.

The visitation will take place Sunday, Sept. 8 at 1:30-2:45 p.m. in the sanctuary of Marks Creek Presbyterian Church, 484 Marks Creek Church Road, Hamlet, North Carolina with the memorial service to follow at 3 p.m.

Memorials may be made to Marks Creek Presbyterian Church with “cemetery fund” in the memo line, c/o Ginger Seymour, 150 Twin Sisters Lane, Rockingham, NC 28379 or to the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org.

Online condolences may be made at watson-kingfuneralhome.com Watson-King Funeral Home in Hamlet is serving the McRae family.