Mr. John Ray Lemons Jr.'s Obituary
Ray Lemons died peacefully at Circle of Life in Bentonville, AR surrounded by his family on February 7, 2023. Ray was born November 4, 1919 in Dallas, TX and lived an incredible and active life for 103 years.
Growing up during the depression, Ray learned to be responsible at an early age. This was a trait he carried throughout his entire life. He had a paper route for the Dallas Morning News in his youth, which required him to get up at 4am each day and throw papers from his bicycle, before going to school. At one point, Ray’s family had their furniture repossessed and Ray saved money from his paper route to buy new bedroom furniture for his parents.
Ray graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1937, where he excelled in math and was a leader in ROTC. Shortly after graduation, Ray received a call from a counselor at Woodrow Wilson about a potential job at Magnolia Petroleum (which would later become Mobil and now Exxon Mobil). This began as a job in the mail room which progressed into an incredible 48 year career ending with Ray being an executive in their property tax department.
Ray’s inherent responsibility and love of country led him to enlist in the Army Air Corp during WWII. Ray became a waist gunner on a B24 stationed in Tibenham, England. On September 27, 1944, Ray’s plane was shot down during the Kassel Mission. This disastrous mission resulted in the worst loss of planes and life of any air mission of WWII. This mission has been chronicled in detail in several books, Kassel Raid, by Eric Ratcliff and Up Above the Clouds, to Die by Aaron Elson, in which Ray was a contributor. During this mission, when Ray’s plane was hit he put a parachute on their injured tail gunner and got him out of the burning plane before he bailed out. Even in the heat of battle, Ray thought of others before himself. After parachuting from the plane, Ray was captured by the Germans and spent the next 8 months as a POW. During this time, Ray and thousands of other POW were forced to march from stalag to stalag as the Allied forces closed in. Ray was liberated in late April 1945 by General Patton.
After the war, Ray returned to work at Mobil, where he finished his career. The majority of his time at Mobil was spent in the Ad Valorum Tax department, where Ray managed property taxes for their biggest assets, such as their refinery in Beaumont, TX. His job also included negotiating royalty payments with the Navajo nation as well as work with the pipeline in Alaska. He was also a long time member of their championship winning bowling team, The Tax Dodgers.
While at Mobil, Ray met a beautiful secretary, Jean, who would become his wife of 63 years. In retirement, Ray and Jean, traveled the world together. These travels often included Ray’s brother and sister and their spouses. Whether it was trips to Europe (or trips to a casino), they always had a great time.
Ray led by example and tried to instill in his 4 children many enduring qualities. These traits include fiscal responsibility, love of country, generosity, integrity and a strong work ethic. He also inadvertently passed on a little bit of road rage too.
In addition to their travels, Ray became very active in various military groups in the USA as well as England. This included the 2Nd Air Division, Kassel Mission Historical Society, and the Ex-POW association. On a KMHS trip, Ray had a memorable reunion in Germany, where he met and shook hands with an ex German fighter pilot who had shot down several planes during the Kassel Mission.
Ray was rarely idle and his curiosity and drive were key contributors to his long life. He enjoyed learning and using the latest technology, working on cars, and fixing anything that was in need of repair. Most family members, though, say the true secret to his longevity was coffee, donuts, chocolate, and peanut butter. Jean adds, however, that it was their 40 year morning ritual of a cup of hot water with apple cider vinegar and honey that helped Ray reach 103.
Ray and Jean had a lake house at Rock Falls Lake, near Mineola. He eventually sold that one and, at 74, he purchased another lake home in Hideaway, TX. Both homes provided his growing family a place to gather and create wonderful memories that would last a lifetime. At Hideaway, the home also included two slot machines that didn’t produce any better luck than his trips to the casino.
Ray enjoyed golf, Thursday night poker group, coin collecting, and Friday morning coffee with ex Mobil employees as well as coffee at North Park with a great circle of friends.
Ray is preceded in death, by his parents, John Ray Lemons Sr. and Eddie Lee Pierson Lemons, brother, Curtis Lemons and sister, Juanita Gladden.
Survivors include his wife of 63 years, Martha Jean Lemons, sons, James Rodney Lemons (Rosi), Mark Stephen Lemons (Melissa), David Ray Lemons, daughter, Julie Lemons Aenchbacher (Bob). He was also survived by 8 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.
Visitation will be held at Restland Funeral home in Dallas on Thursday, February 23 from 3:00-6:00.
Graveside services will be at the DFW National Cemetery on Friday, February 24 at 2:30 where Ray will receive full military honors.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Mighty 8th Air Force Museum or the Kassel Mission Historical Society. Please use the links below to direct your donation.
www.mightyeighth.org/contribute/
www.kasselmission.org/get-involved/donate
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