MARYSVILLE — Marysville firefighter Ray Hancock was diagnosed more than a year ago with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as “Lou Gehrig’s disease,” but he hasn’t given up hope yet, and neither have his friends and fellow firefighters.

On Aug. 2, those friends and fellow firefighters swarmed the Cedarcrest Golf Course for the “Ragin’ Ray” fundraising golf tournament organized by members of Marysville Professional Firefighters Local 3219 and the Firefighters’ Wives LLC.

All profits from this tourney will go to support Hancock, whose prognosis has left him with 2-4 remaining years to live. Event coordinator Dayne Richardson and Firefighters’ Wives co-founder Lianna Neyens said that the event exceeded the collection goal of $5,000 by raising $9,962.47 between the 24 teams of players and the 20 hole sponsors they drew for the tourney’s 18 holes.

“When we went to area businesses to ask for their support, they didn’t even hesitate,” said fellow Firefighters Wives’ co-founder Kara Tucker.

Marysville Fire Battalion Chief Rex Tucker deemed Hancock “one hell of a guy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone handle adversity with the quality that he has.”

Marysville Fire Capt. Jason Schoonover echoed the many firefighters who say they’ve kept Hancock and his family in their thoughts, even though he’s no longer an active-duty firefighter.

“Once you become part of the fire service, you stay part of that family,” Schoonover said. “You’re not forgotten. Ray is a dynamic, good-natured individual with a sense of humor that’s missed in our station. He kept us on our toes, and he’d approve of us playing Led Zeppelin out on the links,” he laughed.

Contact Marysville Globe Reporter Kirk Boxleitner at kboxleitner@marysvilleglobe.com or 360-659-1300 Ext. 5052.

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