Don Ray Paulk was born on February 5, 1950, to Aubrey and Bessie Paulk in Ambrose, Georgia. After an extended hospital stay, he died peacefully at his daughters’ home in Savannah, Georgia on April 29, 2026.
He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Karen Quinkert Paulk; his children Angela, Jenny, Kari Beth, and his (grand)son, Aubrey; his grandchildren, Conner, Caleb, Hannah, Ellie, and Eliana; his brothers, Jerry Paulk (Betty) and Doyle Paulk (Brenda); and many beloved brothers- and sisters-in-law, nieces, and nephews. He was preceded in death by his son, Matthew Paulk (Victoria), and his parents.
Don Ray was a simple man of rare quality — hardworking and humble, candid and kind. He had a genuine capacity for empathy and a gift for bringing people together, whether at a church social, a family reunion, a workplace cafeteria, or a Burger King table surrounded by friends trading dad jokes. He rarely complained, loved to tell a story, and would welcome a chat with just about anyone. Those who knew him heard his affirmation often: “Life is good” — and he meant it, even when it wasn’t so great.
He was a faithful usher and church council member for many years, until a “lazy foot” kept him from walking the aisles he’d covered so frequently. He played church league softball for years — sometimes first baseman, sometimes pitcher — and loved to recount the challenge of directing any one of the many Mikes in the outfield to the ball.
Don Ray had a quiet generosity that expressed itself in practical ways. He sourced tomato seeds and tree saplings — magnolia, plum, fig, and persimmon — for anyone who’d shown even a passing interest. He shared his catches of fish, buckets of garden produce, homemade jam, and tinned goods whenever he had more than he needed, or knew someone who did.
He loved the outdoors with genuine joy. Fishing trips to the Okefenokee down in Fargo with his kids, friends, and family were among his greatest pleasures — and the bears, snakes, and gators he spotted in the swamp gave him stories he told many times over, always with the same excitement as the first telling. He also enjoyed road trips: out to the farm where he was raised, down to Jekyll Island on Saturdays with his children, back and forth chauffeuring his wife and friends to doctors’ appointments and his grandson Aubrey and his friends to school, or to the local park to meet his buddy Cal for conversation and a chance to feed the ducks.
Though a man of the South in his bones, Don Ray was open to the wider world. He made many a long road trip through the Tennessee and Kentucky foothills to New Albany, Indiana, to visit his wife’s large Quinkert family. In later years, he followed his daughters to Paris, New York City, London, Phoenix and the Grand Canyon — and relished every adventure.
He could surprise you. A devoted Jeopardy viewer, he also had a deep appreciation for Southern literature — Faulkner and Vidal — and a music interest that ranged from Goose Creek Symphony and the Flying Burrito Brothers to Otis Redding and Lucinda Williams. He loved to cook and to feed people: fried fish, fried okra, fried sweet potatoes, deviled eggs, and green bean casserole, made complete by his wife’s pecan pie or his mother’s coconut layer cake. His only real vices, by his own admission, were the fried food, a few too many fresh oysters, and a weakness for orange slice and lemon drop candies.
Even in his final hours, he kept his wit. After several days of deep sleep and little interaction, he was asked his name and birthday, and answered both readily. But when asked who the President was, he paused and replied, “Unnecessary. I want to eat — I’ll even eat tacos.”
For more than thirty years, he shared a workplace cafeteria — and countless lottery pool runs to the Florida line — with colleagues he considered extended family: Cal, Cookie, Steve, and Jimmy among them.
As Flannery O’Connor reminds us, a good man is hard to find. Those who knew Don Ray knew he was one.
Life is good.
The family will receive friends on Friday, May 1, 2026, at Sims Funeral Home in Douglas, GA, from 6:00PM until 8:00PM.
Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, May 2, 2026, at St.Paul Catholic Church, at 1PM, with Father Saimel Perdomo officiating, Interment will follow at St. Paul Columbarium.