Today, we remember and celebrate the life of Ray Dean Bradshaw of Choctaw, Oklahoma who was born August 22, 1934 in Wellston, Oklahoma and he passed from this life to his eternal home on April 13, 2021.
Ray graduated from Harrah High School in 1953 and went on to work for Western Electric, which later became Southwestern Bell Telephone Company where he retired after 35 years of employment.
He married Doris Wilson of Jones, Oklahoma on April 18, 1954 and would have celebrated 67 years this week. Together Ray and his wife Doris have four children: Ronald Bradshaw of Choctaw; Alan Bradshaw of Edmond; Philip Bradshaw of Choctaw; and DeDe LaFever of Midwest City. Ray and Doris have 11 grandchildren: Jarla, Karissa, Adam, Luke, Destiny, Brooke, Marshall, Graceson, Andrew, Carson, Brayden, and six great-grandchildren: Betty, Georgia, Watson, Stella, Luca and Maddox.
Ray's greatest legacy is his love for Jesus and his family. He loved his desserts and his wife's cooking. Ray would often want to keep Doris' desserts a secret from everyone at the house, hoping to keep them all to himself saying, "You wouldn't like it!". He enjoyed trading and rebuilding cars and giving his grandkids a ride in every convertible that came through his home workshop. He and Doris greatly enjoyed traveling in their RV often spending summers in Colorado and winters in south Texas.
Ray served in The Air National Guard and was a volunteer for The Gideons International, Choctaw School board and Choctaw City Council. He also participated in multiple prison outreach ministries. He and Doris are members of Bethel Church of Choctaw.
Ray Bradshaw is preceded in death by his parents Earl and Edith Bradshaw; siblings: Ruth Bradshaw Jackson, David Bradshaw, Donnie Bradshaw; son-in-law: Greg LaFever and infant great grandson Elijah Bradshaw.
