Ray Eugene Turner

Obituary For Ray Eugene Turner

Ray Eugene Turner (known as “Papa” to his grandkids), 80 of Nocona, TX, went to be with his Lord and Savior on December 6, 2024. He died peacefully at his home with his family.

A memorial service will take place at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 14th, at the Montague County Cowboy Church in Montague, TX, with Pastor Joe Caballero officiating. The family will receive friends 1 hour prior to the service at the church.

There will be a private burial at Fairy Cemetery at a later date.

Ray was born February 19, 1944, in Houston, Texas to the late Willie and Virginia Bell (Farris) Turner.

He met the love of his life, Carolyn Sellers, at the early age of thirteen. They went to Fairy School and then married on June 29, 1962, going on to raise a son, Keith, and a daughter, Kim.

He worked for Connell Chevrolet in Killeen, Texas as a paint and body man and then took a leap of faith and obtained a 2-year licensing in computers. Ray moved his young family to Arlington, Texas where he began working in the computer field. Ray was a supervisor for their batch processing center that served the automotive dealership market. Over the next 37 years he held many different positions for Reynolds and Reynolds including field technician and supervisor roles. He retired in 2006.

While in Arlington, Ray stayed continually active in his children’s lives. He was President of The Arlington Little League Baseball Association and coached his son in both baseball and peewee football.

Ray decided in 1976 to move his family to Mansfield, Texas so his children could be raised in the country. While in Mansfield, he continued to coach his children in various sports. He coached his daughter in Softball up until she entered High School, and he made many lifelong friends and made great impact on many kids’ lives. Out of all his kid’s sporting events, he missed one game due to being out of town for business.

He and Carolyn built their retirement home in Nocona, Texas where he enjoyed living at the lake and fishing and attending all his grandchildren’s activities from Nocona to Hico.

Ray was an active member of Montague County Cowboy Church. He loved his church body and loved serving others. He spent many hours volunteering with The Chuck Wagon Team, cooking and setting up concessions for numerous events. Having a servant’s heart, he was passionate about others in need. He took great pleasure working alongside his wife at Christ Can in Montague, Texas, a non-profit where they were able to love on and help those in need.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Willie and Virginia Bell Turner; his sister, Birdine Botkin; and brothers, Billy, Jack, and Stanley Turner.

Ray is survived by one sister, Bernice and her husband Chip Mull of Granbury, TX; his wife of 62 years, Carolyn; two children, son Keith and wife LaDonna Turner of Glenrose, TX and daughter, Kim Embry of Nocona; grandchildren, Lexi and Conner Willis, Kyli Embry, Tyler and Paxton Turner, and Tom Hancock; along with many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Christ Can Food Bank through the Montague County Cowboy Church.

Arrangements entrusted to the White Family Funeral Home of Bowie, TX.