Amanda Rae McCray Amanda “Ray” Rae McCray, 25, passed away March 28, 2021, in a hiking accident in Loveland, Colo., near Sunrise Ranch, where she lived and worked. Memorial services will be held at 6 p.m. (MST), on Friday, April 9, at the Sunrise Ranch dome in Loveland, Colo., and at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 17, at the Snowflake Main Street Cultural Hall in Snowflake. The Colorado memorial will be broadcast via Zoom. For a link, please contact a family member. Amanda was born on Dec. 1, 1995, in Show Low. She grew up in Snowflake, Holbrook, Joseph City and Pinetop-Lakeside. She graduated from Blue Ridge High School in 2014. She was a hardworking student, athlete, and fun-loving girl. Her brother Joshua has been her inseparable companion throughout her life. As a young girl Amanda loved playing soccer and was never without a soccer ball. She played for AYSO in her youth and then Blue Ridge High School. She attended college with a scholastic scholarship at Ashford University in Iowa and Viterbo University in Wisconsin, from where she graduated. During her studies at Viterbo University she had simultaneously interned in the Sustainability Department at Western Technology. In college, Amanda studied South African culture and following her graduation visited Johannesburg, South Africa, where she served the local population. Recently she traveled to Punta Mona, Costa Rica, where she certified as a yoga teacher and also studied permaculture. Amanda continually strived to make the world a better place in her work, pastimes and relationships. She was funny, silly and endeavored to be guided to a higher purpose. She was a light in this world. She is survived by her mother, Trina (Hoyt) McCray; father, Gary (Tiffany) McCray; brother, Joshua McCray; step-siblings, Craig and Brett Cutler and Kayci Crosby; grandparents, Sarah and Terry McCray, Nikki and Coleman Hoyt; and many aunts, uncles and cousins.
