Wednesday, February 2, 2011

RIP Ray Jenkins, Mayor of Doraville


Mayor Jenkins was elected to the Council from District Two in 1974. He was elected Mayor in 2003 and re-elected in 2007. A native of Doraville, Mr. Jenkins attended the old Doraville School for several years. He graduated from Chamblee High School.

He worked for an Atlanta motion picture distributor after high school until he joined the U.S. Navy in 1950. He went to boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Illinois, then was stationed aboard the U.S.S. Wisconsin in Norfolk, Va. He served two tours of duty during the Korean Conflict and received an honorable discharged in 1954.

After his discharge, he returned home to Doraville and began a career with the U.S. Postal Service, retiring in 1986. Jenkins is married the former Louella Brown of Hayesville, N.C. The couple have three children (Beverly, Karen and Douglas) in addition to four grandchildren (Willie and Brandy Jenkins and Emily and Phillip Evans).

As a councilman, Jenkins was instrumental in setting the City's millage rate at a point at when most homeowners paid no city taxes on their residences. He has also been a key supporter of the Doraville parks program and founded the City's Animal Control Service.

Since 1974, Mr. Jenkins has represented Doraville on the DeKalb and Georgia Municipal Associations (GMA). He is a past president of the DeKalb Municipal Association (DMA) and the GMA's Fourth District, Georgia Municipal Association.

2 comments:

Heyward said...

A long time public servant. RIP Ray!

John Heneghan said...

Update: Visitation for Doraville Mayor Ray Jenkins will be held from 5 to 8 pm on Saturday and 2 to 5 pm on Sunday at the H.M. Patterson-Oglethorpe Hill
Funeral Home, 4550 Peachtree Road, in Atlanta. The service will be held at H.M. Patterson at 11 a.m. on Monday. Burial will be at 2:30 p.m. on Monday at the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton. Mayor Pro Tem Donna Pittman will serve as acting mayor until June when the city will hold a special election.