Ray Bodiford was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 insurance agent from Selmer, Tennessee

Selmer, Tennessee

Selmer is a town in McNairy County, Tennessee, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 4,541 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of McNairy County...

 who served as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 member of the Tennessee House of Representatives

Tennessee House of Representatives

The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.-Constitutional requirements:...

 from the 70th district (Hardin

Hardin County, Tennessee

Hardin County is a county located in the U.S. State of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 26,026. The Hardin County seat is Savannah. The county was named posthumously for Col. Joseph Hardin, a Revolutionary War soldier and a legislative representative for the Province of North Carolina and...

 and McNairy counties and parts of Wayne

Wayne County, Tennessee

As of the census of 2010, there were 17,021 people, 5,822 households, and 4,321 families residing in the county. The population density was 23 people per square mile . There were 6,701 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile...

, Chester and Hardemancounties ) from 1973-1976.

He was a member of Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

's 1977 Limited Constitutional Convention.

In 1980, he ran what was described as a "strong campaign" against longtime incumbent state senator and Lieutenant Governor John S. Wilder

John S. Wilder

John Shelton Wilder was an American politician who was a Tennessee state senator from 1959 to 1961 and again from 1967 to 2009 and the 48th lieutenant governor of Tennessee from 1971 to 2007, possibly the longest time anyone has served as Lieutenant Governor or a similar position in the history of...

, but was unable to defeat him.

Personal life

He was married to Bernice Nixon Bodiford, who is listed as his widow in her March 2005 obituary. He was a member of the Churches of Christ, and a Freemason.

He succeeded Granville Hinton

Granville Hinton

Granville Hinton was an insurance agent from Savannah, Tennessee who served as a Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from various districts including Granville Hinton (February 10, 1929 - ?) was an insurance agent from Savannah, Tennessee who served as a Republican member...

, and was succeeded by Herman L. Wolfe Sr.