Donald Ray Taylor

Donald Ray Taylor, 97, passed away on November 25, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. He was born on November 25, 1927, to the late William and Bertha Taylor in Hendrix, Oklahoma. He married Mary Laverne Hagemeir on October 13, 1945. After 58 years of marriage, Laverne passed on July 12, 2004. Don married Kareene Harbinson on May 21, 2005 and they spent 17 years together before her passing on March 22, 2022. Don was a loved father, brother, Pepaw and friend. As he walked through life, he shared the good news of Jesus with everyone he met.

When Don was young, he helped his family on the farm where they grew crops to sell. His mother Bertha passed away when he was 8 years old and after several years his father remarried Mandy Blankenship who became his beloved stepmom. In 1942 he graduated in a class of 8 students from Liberty Junior High. After finding his passion for basketball and playing in junior high, The Kemp High School basketball coach recruited Don for the high school team. However, his dad decided he was more useful on the farm. After his dad had a stroke, Don continued to work on the family farm until an unpleasant encounter with the farm foreman prompted him to send letters to his adult siblings looking for work. Edmond was the first to answer, with a job offer to work at a paper mill in Pasadena, Texas. The night he arrived in Pasadena, he met Mary Laverne who would later become his first wife. After marriage, he joined his father-in-law Elmer Hagemeier in a trucking company venture to harvest crops. This lasted for one harvest season after which Don converted his truck to move dirt. In 1946 while Laverne was pregnant with their first daughter Shirley, Don was drafted for World War II. He was excused from military service due to the impending birth. As he tells it, a note from Laverne's doctor was needed to excuse him from basic training and as the military clerk was beginning to lock the door he returned with the paper and was told “If they locked the door you would have been on the way to Fort Sam Houston for basic training". In 1948 he was hired by the city of Houston as a maintenance worker at the coliseum doing miscellaneous jobs which included building the ice for the Houston Huskies Hockey team. He was hired by Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in 1949 where he initially worked as a line splicer and then moved on to service line pressurization, building PBX and working in the switch office. In 1952 they welcomed their second daughter Deborah followed in 1957 by their son, Donald Jr. Towards the end of his career, he went to work in the control tower at Houston Intercontinental Airport to help set up the first linked radar system around the country. He retired from Southwestern Bell in 1983.

After retirement, he and Laverne purchased a travel trailer and enrolled at the Sunset School of Preaching in Lubbock, Texas. After six months of school, they joined the Sojourners which allowed them to share their love of Christ full-time. The couple traveled the entire country and parts of Mexico and Canada for 25 years helping people spiritually and physically by loving the way Jesus loved. After Laverne's passing in Lufkin, Texas in 2004, Don continued to work with the Sojourners and enjoy time with his family. Don moved to Kerrville, Texas after his marriage to Kareene in 2005. He was very active in the church there, building many relationships and continuing to share the good news. After 17 years of marriage, Kareene passed away in 2022. Despite his declining health over the past few years, he continued to love his family, friends and everyone he encountered.

He is survived by his daughter Shirley (John) Weeks, daughter Deborah (Curtis) Antley, son Donnie Taylor; grandchildren Wesley (Rhonda) Weeks, Becky (Larry) Wills, Leslie (Jackie) Weeks, Shannon (Tracie) Weeks, Karli Arnold, Nathan Antley, Robert (Charane) Antley, John Birdwell and grandson-in-law Kevin Cole; his brother William Taylor, sister Lawanda Duckworth (Bill), brother-in-law Jim Mitchell and sister-in-law Bonnie Taylor; 23 great-grandchildren and 13 great-great-grandchildren. He also leaves behind his bonus family consisting of Kareene's son, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

He was proceeded in death by his parents, William and Bertha Taylor; stepmother, Mandy Taylor; granddaughter Beth Cole; brothers Leeman Taylor, Edmond Taylor, Archie Taylor, Leon Taylor, Kenneth Taylor and 2 infant brothers; sisters Gertie Bowers, Thelma Richardson, Richie Weger, Frances Rice, Mayhew Harrison, Fern Harber, Marilyn Mitchell, and Ida DeLashaw.

Pallbearers: Wesley Weeks, Leslie Weeks, Shannon Weeks, Nathan Antley, Robert Antley and John Birdwell

A visitation and service will be held on Saturday, November 30, with the visitation beginning at 10:30 am and the funeral service will follow at 11:30 am, both at Gipson Funeral Home in Lufkin, Texas. The interment will follow at the Garden of Memories Memorial Park in Lufkin, Texas.

Family and friends are invited to come and share memories and fellowship following the interment at the Angelina Church of Christ in Lufkin, Texas.