Tucked at the back of South College on the Hill is Ray’s Place, one of campus’s hidden gems. For 34 years, students, staff, faculty, and the Knoxville community have gone to have a bite to eat—and, until recently, to see the friendly face of owner Ray Mowery.

“Daddy was an inspiration to a lot of people and always had a smile on his face,” says Rennie Mowery of her father, who passed away on August 26, 2023, at the age of 86.

Mowery was born in 1936, the same year the Randolph–Sheppard Act made it possible for those with vision loss or impairment to have employment opportunities in government buildings at cafés and restaurants. The federal law later enabled Mowery, who was left visually impaired by two accidents in his childhood, to establish Ray’s Place.

He began training for employment at age 16 through the Tennessee Business Enterprises Program, which offers vocational training and employment opportunities for individuals who are legally blind.

The Randolph–Sheppard Act enabled Mowery to work in the Knox County Courthouse and the City County Building. He then operated a business in the TVA East Tower, which is now the UT Tower.

In 1987, Ray’s Place opened in South College in a spot set aside for a Randolph–Sheppard vendor. Mowery worked there for more than three decades serving students and supporting the university.

Ray Mowery making change for a student in Ray’s Place. Photo from Volunteer Yearbook

“People just loved to come in and talk to Dad because they enjoyed it. And he would give them some humdingers, too,” says Rennie.

Mowery talked to everyone who came through the doors. He gave advice and pep talks and told stories and jokes to thousands of people throughout the years.

He never let any student go hungry.

If a student didn’t have money to pay, he’d either offer them a free meal or ask them to pay the next time they came in.

“He loved being here. He loved all the students and considered them his kids—thousands of them,” Rennie says. “He would always be so excited when the new school year would start.”

Rennie recalls that when Mowery was too sick to come in during the final month of his life, the thing that was the hardest on him was not being there for the students.

“Oh, yes, he considered them all his kids,” says his son, Ray Mowery Jr.

And often those kids, long grown up and moved away, would come back just to see Mowery. Sometimes he remembered them and sometimes he didn’t, but he never passed up the opportunity to talk with them.

Rennie and Ray Jr. agree on their father’s abiding love for UT athletics.

He bled orange and shared his love for the university with the students and the community.

“He would listen to the games on his XM radio—any of the UT sports,” Rennie recalls. “You would always know when something went wrong or right based on his reaction, but he never stopped listening or caring.”

Ray Jr. and Rennie have established a scholarship in memory of their father. While the scholarship is primarily for UT students who are visually impaired, those who are deaf or hard of hearing or have other types of physical disabilities are eligible.

“I know he would want to help a student who needs help,” Rennie says. “I also know he would say, ‘No, you don’t need to put a scholarship in my name,’ but he’d be proud.”

Though Mowery is no longer here to greet Vols as they come through the door, his children are carrying on and honoring his legacy.