Ray, Thelma Jean 


Funeral services for Thelma Jean Ray, 82, of Longview, are scheduled for 3 p.m. 
Wednesday, February 8, 2006, at the Welch Funeral Home Chapel, 4619 Judson Road, 
with the Rev. Dick Stagner officiating. Burial will follow in Lakeview Memorial 
Gardens. Mrs. Ray passed away Sunday, February 5, 2006, at a local medical center. 
Mrs. Ray was born July 5, 1923, in Chester, Oklahoma, to Harmon Albert and Belva 
May Haynes Harms. She was a veteran of the United States Army Air Corps. She 
worked at Gibson's on Highway 80. Mrs. Ray loved being with her grandchildren 
and fishing. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Joe Ben Ray 
in 1996; and great-grandson, Nathan Riley Ray in 2003. Survivors include her son, 
Bill Ray of Gladewater; grandsons, Kevin Ray of Gilmer, Keith Ray of Dallas, and 
Chris Ray of Longview; great-grandchildren, Sean, Maisie, Joshua, Megan, Morgan, 
Chloe, and Dyllan; sisters, Jo Ann Berry of Gage, Oklahoma, Ethel Miller of Gage, 
Oklahoma, and Betty Creager of Lubbock; nieces, Betty Waits of Henderson, and 
Linda Stephenson of Lubbock; and nephew, Rob Creager of Lubbock. Memorials may be 
made to the Alzheimer's Association, 3613 South Broadway, Suite 401, Tyler, TX 
75701-8732. The family will receive friends 6 p.m. this evening, February 7, 2006, 
at Welch Funeral Home. An online registry may be signed at www.news-journal.com, 
by clicking on the obituaries link.

Published in the Longview News-Journal on 2/7/2006.