Almost 62 years after perishing in a plane crash in Alaska, Staff Sgt. James Herbert Ray Jr., who was an East Butler native, is coming home.

He was among the 52 people who died in a Nov. 22, 1952, crash when a U.S. Air Force transport plane went down about 40 miles east of Anchorage. His remains recently were identified officially.

“I never ever dreamed it,” his daughter, Jamie Swift of Pensacola, Fla., said. “Total shock.”

Remains from the crash were discovered by the Alaska National Guard in June 2012, and were taken to an Air Force lab in Hawaii for DNA testing.

The location of the crash always was known, but recovery at the time was hampered by snow and ice. Over time, the site was swallowed by a glacier.

All that was recovered of Ray’s body was a piece of his jawbone with some teeth.

Swift found out about her father being identified about a month or two ago.

Ray was born on Feb. 18, 1916, in East Butler to James H. Ray Sr. and Mary Lamison Ray. He moved to Worthington before joining the Army Air Force in 1942 during World War II. After the war, he returned to his job at Cooper-Bessemer in Grove City before re-enlisting in the Air Force in 1947.

He died at 36 and left behind his pregnant wife, Ava Ray, who would give birth to Jamie. Ava Ray died in 1966.

Swift said her mother would have been happy to be able to see Ray coming home.

“I know she would have,” Swift said.

Although she never met her father, Swift said she feels a strong connection to him. On Tuesday, she was able to spend some time alone with her father’s remains, and she later was allowed to help wrap them.

“It was just surreal,” Swift said.

On Wednesday night, she flew from Hawaii to Pittsburgh with her father’s remains for funeral arrangements, which are being handled by the F. Duane Snyder Funeral Home in Worthington.

The remains will be placed in a full-sized casket and will be attached to a military green blanket. A military uniform will be placed on top of the blanket.

A service will be held Saturday following visitation. After that, military honors will be at the Worthington Presbyterian Cemetery.

A memorial plaque was set at a family burial plot in the cemetery, and a headstone was erected in Mobile, Ala., where he was last stationed. When Ray’s remains are buried in the cemetery, he will get a full headstone.

He is survived by his daughter; two sisters, Martha Rider Ellenberger and Shirley Hardies; and four brothers, George, Perry, Richard and Donald.

Swift said other surviving family members are pleased Ray is returning back to Western Pennsylvania. She said that some of the older family members are emotional since they remember him.

“Everybody’s thrilled,” Swift said.

His obituary is on Page 7.