Raymond Dale Christian

Texas on August 6, 2021.

Raymond, “Ray,” was born December 21, 1937 in a farmhouse in Lasara, Texas to Ralph Costal

Christian and R.E. Crain. He was a direct descendent of Christians who immigrated from the Isle of

Man in 1657 to an area near Jamestown, Virginia. He married his high school sweetheart, Mary Ellen

Baird Christian, on July 18, 1959.

After graduating Raymondville High School in 1956, he attended The University of Texas at Austin

and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1961. Upon graduation, he was

commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force after completing 4 years of ROTC.

During 23 years of service in the U.S. Air Force, Ray managed the construction of various health

facilities and hospital projects around the world. Together with his fellow Health Facilities Officers,

health clinics and hospitals at Clark Field in the Philippines, Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio,

Texas, and Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio were completed.

Before his retirement from the U.S. Air Force as a Lt. Colonel in 1984, Ray served as Chief of the

Eastern Region Health Facilities Office in Atlanta, Georgia, and directed project officers and

administrative staff who were located throughout the Eastern United States and Europe.

After his retirement, he returned home to his beloved state of Texas to pursue his private and

professional career in Austin, Texas with Page Southerland Page. He served in design quality control

and managed various projects before relocation to Fort Sill Army Post in Lawton, Oklahoma to serve as

an architect's representative on a new U.S. Army medical center.

He left Page Southerland Page after being offered a project team management position on the design

and construction of Zale Lipshy Univeristy Hospital in Dallas, Texas. After completion of the hospital,

Ray remained on staff as a director of engineering and project manager for Zale Lipshy, Parkland

Memorial Hospital and other facilities in the DFW area. He retired from his professional career in

2004.

Ray was a devout Christian. He pursued his love for Jesus Christ by attending church regularly,

supporting The Gideons International, religious charities and helping family, friends and society in their

time of need.

Ray's proudest accomplishment is his family. Along with his wife Mary, he helped to raise 3 children, 5

grand-children and 4 great-grand-children. He also welcomed numerous step-children, step-grandchildren,

step-great-grand-children and step-great-great-grand-children into his large family.

Ray's love for family extended to his love of genealogy, and he researched and documented his vast

family history by traveling the United States and the world visiting relatives, cemeteries, libraries and

courthouses. He also organized family, high school and U.S. Air Force reunions, and is fondly

remembered for corralling everyone for the family photo as he loved photography. He also enjoyed

fishing, hunting, gardening and watching sports (especially Texas Longhorns football).

Raymond is survived by his wife, Mary; sisters, Mary Sue Freeman, Kathy Christian and Kandy

Kreuger; children, Rory Christian, Lori Rodolph and her husband Paul Rodolph, and Mark Christian;

grand-children, Shelly Helms Kappleman and husband Troy Kappleman, Nicole Sherwood Kotara and

husband Mark Kotara, Christian Sherwood and wife Christi Baetz Sherwood, Joshua Sherwood and

wife Abigail McBride Sherwood; and great-grand-children, Travis Kappleman, Luke Sherwood, Israel

Sherwood, Raphael Sherwood and Dawn Kotara.

He was preceded in death by his father, Ralph Costal Christian and mother, R.E. Crain Smith, stepfather,

Lloyd Smith II, step-mother Genie Hardin Christian, brother Gene Christian, and sister Kay

Carpenter.