BAUM, Ray James (Jay), Jr.

Wickenburg Sun, Wickenburg, Arizona June 17, 1976 Ray James (Jay) Baum, Jr., 21 of Wickenburg died last week after being struck by lightning at a cousin’s ranch in Saratoga, Wyo. Jay, a 1972 graduate of Wickenburg High, was the son of Ray and Marian Baum, 293 Mariposa Street in Wickenburg. A senior agriculture major at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Jay customarily spent summer vacations working on his relatives’’ ranches in Wyoming. Sources said he was irrigating a field when he was struck by the lightning at approximately 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 2. He was Killed Immediately. Jay was born August 3, 1954, in Fort Hood, Tex. He was a very popular student at Wickenburg High, where he was an active member of the football teams and track. More recently, Jay had been involved with the University of Arizona Livestock Judging Team. He was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity. Jay’s father, Ray Baum Sr., has been manager and pharmacist at Revco Drug Store here for several years. Survivors include his parents, Ray and Marian Baum; three sisters, Elaine and Cindy, both students at the University of Arizona; and Terri, a senior at WHS; grandparents Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Bashor of Pavilion, Wyo.; and another grandfather, Lawrence Needham of Arkansas. Services were held Saturday morning at St. Anthony’s Episcopal Church. Burial followed at Wickenburg Cemetery. Saratoga is located in the southeastern quarter of Wyoming.