Deloris M "Smokee" Raynor

Deloris Mary Rayner, fondly known to her friends as Dee or Smokee, died at Woodland Acres, an Assisted Living home in Gaylord on Wednesday, October 9, 2013. Born in Chicago on January 4, 1933, she was the daughter of Loris M. and Hortense E (Williams) Rayner. Smokee was raised in Chicago where she graduated from St. Elizabeth High School. She worked for many years as a teller for Western Union. Following her retirement, she moved in the early 1980’s to the Gaylord area which eventually became her home. As a student of Yogacharya Oliver Black, her spiritual teacher, she was a longtime member and former staff of Song of the Morning Ranch in Vanderbilt, Michigan. Smokee was an ardent follower of Amma, a world renowned humanitarian leader known as the ‘hugging saint’. For most of 2010-11 she lived, worshipped and meditated in India at Amma’s ashram. She will be remembered for her free spirit, her wit, and her wisdom which she shared with everyone she met. She was an avid reader, a lover of jazz and thrived on spiritual chants. She appreciated fine food while gathered with her diverse group of friends. She will be dearly missed by many throughout the world. Smokee is survived by her children, Loris Casseus and Loran Cooper of Chicago; her grandson, Darius Rayner of Gaylord, her sister Carol Brazier of Nebraska, her brother Ivan Rayner of Chicago, nieces and nephews, and countless deeply connected friends with whom she shared her life for many years. A memorial gathering for Smokee will be held at Song of the Morning Ranch, 9607 East Sturgeon Valley Road, Vanderbilt, Michigan, 49795 on Sunday, October 27, 2013 at 11:00 am followed by a dinner. Reservations required for dinner, please call 989-983-4107 to reserve. Memorial tax-deductible gifts may be made in honor of Smokee to Song of the Morning Ranch at above address or to Amma’s humanitarian work through the MA Center of Michigan, 4201 Ann Arbor Saline Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103. Arrangements made by Gaylord Community Funeral Home, 989-732-2230.