Roll Call Tribute

James Eugene Ray 

September 23, 1931 - February 3, 2025 

James Eugene Ray, 93, went to be with his Lord and Savior on February 3, 2025. Having been surrounded by four generations of extended family in days prior, he was loved upon and supported in his final minutes with his wife and daughters at his bedside.

A beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, Jim will be remembered for his ferocious love of family, readiness to forgive, a sense of humor, musical talent, and eagerness to help anyone in trouble. He'd give you the coat off his back, even if it was his last one.

Requiem Mass: 12:00 p.m. Friday, February 21, 2025, at St. Alban's Anglican Parish, 911 S. Davis Drive, Arlington, Texas 76013; entombment in St. Nicholas Mausoleum of Flower Mound will be attended privately by family members.

Born in 1931, in Dallas, Texas, to Woody Hugh Ray and Mary Jack Elizabeth Ray, Jim was the last surviving of eight children: Helen, Bud, Joanna, Ann, Eddie, Donnie, and Susie.

His early years were marked by the Depression, but his stories of enjoying simple pleasures with friends and neighbors dripped with abundance! The proudest moment of his young life was receiving his bachelor's degree in Architectural Engineering from Texas A&M University, identifying lifelong as a proud Aggie.

He served on active military duty for two years in the Army. While a last minute change in orders took his troop to the Philippines rather than Korea, Jim loved his country and was soberly prepared to give the last full measure if called upon to do so.

Instead he was called upon to give sacrificially every day to the six women in his life: wife, Judy, and daughters, Rachael, Jane, Jean, Lauren, and Dorothy. His daughters would provide by marriage sons, Robert, Barry, Steven, and Duane. In latter years, he would welcome as his own, the son, Ken, reunited to his wife, Judy.

His family grew abundantly with nine grandchildren: Nathan, James, Rachael, Lauren, Lindsay, Jonathan, Emily, Sean, and Katie, and four great-grandchildren. The visit of his two month old great-granddaughter days before his passing was an emotional dichotomy of the oldest family member and the youngest.

Jim loved singing praise to His Lord, and found a forever family in his church home of St. Albans Anglican Church. He was a long standing member of the choir, participated in the 'Saints and Sinners' parish entertainment and, being a gifted musician, enjoyed playing his guitar and mandolin for Tuesday night 'Praise & Compline'.

His other hobbies included golf (finding great joy in sharing this hobby with his grandsons), historical poems (able to recite word for word Gunga Din), and, if coffee can be a hobby, definitely coffee!

His family thanks their many friends for the love and comfort provided, as they say goodbye to their treasured Patriarch.

GREENWOOD FUNERAL HOME
Greenwood Funeral Homes - Cremation
3344 White Settlement Road, Fort Worth, TX 76107