Ray Stewart Pickett, 76, of Dunlap, passed away Thursday, December 31, 2020 at Memorial Hospital. He was affectionately called "Stew" by many of his friends. He was a member of Mt. Carmel Baptist Church and was a 1962 graduate of Sequatchie County High School. He was a loving, caring, most selfless individual you would ever meet, and always put his family as his first priority. Stew spent his entire working career in the garment industry. He started in 1962 after graduation as a machine mechanic at Dunlap Industries. Over the next several years, he held various plant management positions as well as director of sales of the largest equipment & parts distributor in North America that eventually led him to owning his own parts & equipment distributor called RSP Unlimited.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Otis Ray and Mary Elizabeth Stewart Pickett; and brother, Albert Pickett.
He is survived by his wife, Janice Phipps Pickett; children, Brandon (Claudia) Pickett, Brent (Kelli) Pickett and Allison (Rusty) Blevins; sisters, Jane Smith and Linda (Mike) Hargis; seven grandchildren, Josh, Katie and Kyle Blevins, Nicolas, Isabella, Jackson and Olivia Pickett; three great-grandchildren, Elijah, Oliver and Isaac Blevins; along with several nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held Monday, Jan. 4 at 2 p.m. at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, with Bro. Rocky Bradford officiating. Burial will follow in Chapel Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be Monday from 11 a.m.-2 p.m at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church.
Ewton Funeral Home & Cremation Center in charge of arrangements.