EVERETT– Members of the Everett Police Department attended the 2026 Peace Officers Memorial – Law Enforcement Medal of Honor ceremony in Olympia earlier this month, where Everett Police Officer Charles Edward Ray was honored nearly 120 years after his death in the line of duty.
This week, the department’s Honor Guard is visiting Washington D.C. where Officer Ray’s name can now be viewed on the National Law Enforcement Memorial.
While reviewing the history of fallen Everett officers in 2025, Lieutenant Greg Sutherland in collaboration with Library Specialist Lisa Labovitch discovered Officer Ray, who lost his life in the line of duty over a century ago. His story had been lost in the department’s history. Since this discovery, Everett Police detectives and officers have worked to rebuild the memory of Officer Ray and honor the sacrifice he made for his young city.
Charles Edward Ray was born in Springfield, Missouri in June of 1858 to parents John Ray and Roxanna Steele Ray. He was one of 11 children and his father, John, worked as a local postmaster.
Officer Ray’s childhood home was located on the Wilson Steele estate, which would later become part of the battleground during the American Civil War’s Battle of Wilson’s Creek. During the battle, the Ray children hid in the cellar of their home with their mother. At that time, the home was converted to a makeshift hospital. It is now part of the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield under the care of the National Park Service.
In the 1890s, Officer Ray moved to Asotin, Washington where he married his wife, Lola Ray. Together they had a daughter, Faletia Ray, born in November of 1896.
The Ray family moved to Everett in 1902 where Officer Ray was employed as a local barber on Hewitt Ave. Officer Ray and Mrs. Ray helped care for community members sick with Typhoid locally out of their home near Walnut St and Everett Ave. Officer Ray later became a police officer with the Everett Police Department in his late 40s.
On December 31, 1906, at approximately 7p.m., Officer Ray attempted to arrest a suspect in connection to a drunken disturbance near the Lobby Saloon on Hewitt Ave. While attempting to arrest a 23-year-old male suspect, the suspect struck Officer Ray in the head, dropping him to the ground. The suspect then repeatedly kicked Officer Ray in the ribs.
A local letter carrier, Charles Titus, reportedly intervened and held the suspect until Everett Police Captain Knapp arrived and handcuffed the offender. Officer Ray was pronounced dead minutes within falling to the ground. The coroner listed his cause of death as “exhaustion while making an arrest.”
Newspaper articles stated Officer Ray’s funeral was attended by his wife, daughter, a large number of friends and policemen. Shortly after his death, Mrs. Ray was hospitalized. She died in early April 1907 of Typhoid pneumonia. Their daughter, Faletia, moved back to Missouri where she lived with her aunt and uncle. She later married a surgeon with whom she had 3 children. She passed away at the age of 97 in 1994.
“Every officer who makes the ultimate sacrifice deserves to be remembered,” said Everett Police Chief Robert Goetz. “I’m incredibly proud of the detectives, officers, and staff who worked so hard to piece together Officer Ray’s story and ensure his service and sacrifice are honored with the dignity he deserves.”
Officer Ray and Mrs. Ray’s unadorned burial plots have been located in Everett at Evergreen Cemetery and are in the process of being marked with new headstones, courtesy of the Everett Police Officer’s Memorial Fund.
Officer Ray was posthumously awarded a Medal of Honor in Olympia, Washington on May 2, 2026, at the 2026 Peace Officers Memorial – Law Enforcement Medal of Honor Ceremony. His name has been added to the Washington State Law Enforcement Memorial in Olympia. This week, members of the Everett Police Department’s Honor Guard are visiting Washington D.C. for police week and to honor Officer Ray, whose name has now been added to the National Law Enforcement Memorial.
“Thanks to the dedicated work of Everett police detectives, officers and the Everett Public Library’s Northwest Room, Officer Charles Ed Ray’s story and sacrifice will no longer be lost to history,” said Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin. “We’re grateful for the effort to piece together his life and service, so he could be properly honored over a century after his death in the line of duty. Officer Ray made the ultimate sacrifice serving our community, and it’s important that his legacy is remembered.”
Officer Ray is survived by family across the United States, in Missouri, Delaware, Eastern Washington, and New England.
Source: Everett PD
Author: Lynnwood Times Staff
