He was called home by his Lord and Savior on Thursday, June 12, 2025, at the grand old age of 88.
Ray was preceded in death by his father, William R. Fields Sr, a US Army Colonel, and mother, Mildred Fields.
He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Victoria "Vicky Brown" Fields, and five children: William R. "Ray" Fields III (Connie), David W. Fields, Katherine M. Fields, Eric M. Fields (Lynn), Tanya L. Fields (Sue) and his nine grandchildren: Jeremy N. Fields (Ning), Heather A. Berwick (Robbie), David W. Fields, Jr., Adista N. Fields, Mark C. Joachim, Caitlin F. Skoog (John), Courtney J. Keeney, Rachel L. Fields, and Collin M. Fields, and his two great grandchildren, Abigail Crowell and Walker W. Berwick.
Ray is survived by his younger sister, Mary L. "Mickey" Hoffman and younger brother, Lynwood (Jana) Fields.
Ray graduated from Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College (Texas A&M) in 1959, and was an avid Aggie all his life, notwithstanding his perennial disappointment during football season, with the exception of the tenure of QB Johnny Manzell.
Ray also was a state of Texas champion wrestler representing Texas A&M and was often referred to by his family as the "Tank".
Three members of Ray's family, Raymond, Eric, and Courtney also graduated from Texas A&M, which delighted him greatly.
With the Army's help, Ray later graduated with a master’s degree in Latin American Studies in 1970 from the University of Oklahoma.
He also graduated from the Argentine Command and Staff College in 1972.
Ray served with distinction as a Green Beret during his two tours in South Vietnam (July 28, 1966 - July 8, 1967 and December 8, 1968 - October 21, 1969) with the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions as a Master Jumper, which is the highest-level Parachutist in airborne operations.
He was awarded two Bronze Stars, one with valor for his bravery in Vietnam.
An athlete all his life, Ray earned the master’s degree (5th level) in Karate, while he was in the Army.
After his retirement from the Army, Ray became a stockbroker, first with E. F. Hutton, and then with Dean Whitter, selling primarily commodities, with many of his clients in Mexico.
Ray then established a pay phone company, Nova Long Distance, which he sold prior to full retirement at 72.
Ray fell in love with motorcycles when he was 15 years old in Maracaibo, Venezuela during one of his father's overseas tours of duty.
He rode for years all over the United States and Mexico, and in his 70s had a horrific accident where he broke all his ribs on one side, while riding with other military retirees who called themselves ‘The Retreads’.
Nevertheless, he was not deterred from riding his beloved racing bike into his late 70s.
Ray also fell in love with the Latin lifestyle and was fluent in Spanish to the amazement of home repair contractors who watched this gringo with artic blue eyes listening and clearly understanding Galavision broadcasts; two older children are also fluent in Spanish.
Ray enjoyed working outside and gardening for most of his life. Ray, like his mother, loved to cook.
Ray loved his dogs doting from his first dog ‘Queenie’, a German Shepherd, through his last dog ‘Luna’.
He spoiled his dogs by feeding them parts of his meal, most particularly bacon in the morning from his daily plate of huevos rancheros.
A Funeral Service will take place on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at 9:00 AM at Porter Loring Mortuary North, 2102 North Loop 1604 East. Military Honors will follow in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.
Here is the link to view the services: https://s3-us-east-2.amazonaws.com/mf-fwp/pl/pl_20250710-fields.html
