Raymond E. “Ray” Russell, 78, of Johnson City, Texas, passed peacefully at his home on February 8, 2022. A Graveside Service will be held Wednesday, February 16, 2022 at 1:00 pm at Greenleaf Cemetery located in Brownwood, Texas.

 Ray was a resident of Johnson City since approximately 2006.  Ray was born on June 16, 1943, in Berlin Township, Michigan, to Lester and Genevieve Russell. He was the younger brother to Charles “Chuck”, and older brother to his two sisters, Donna and Sharon. 

Ray worked as a Heavy Equipment Operator since age 18 in and around Michigan for 40+ years. In 1966, he married Shirley Pepin of Romulus, Michigan. Together they had three children-Mark, Robert, and Carey. Ray and Shirley shared 13 years of marriage.   

In 1979, Ray moved to Texas where he also worked as a Heavy Equipment Operator for Prater Equipment Company in Comanche, Texas, for 16 years.  During this time, he met Glenda Faye and they married on October 13, 1989, in Granbury, Texas. Ray and Glenda were married until March 1998, when Glenda passed.

Ray kept people on their toes with his quick wit and dry sense of humor. He enjoyed a good joke and liked to tell a few of his own. Ray loved the companionship of dogs and provided a loving home for several over the years with his Lhasa Apso, Holly, being his companion for the past 12 years. He was often teased that his dog ate better than most people. Ray was known to be strong-willed and endured many health challenges over the years but faced each day with determination and a desire to just keep going.

Ray was preceded in death by his parents, Lester and Genevieve Russell; Shirley Herioux, mother of his children; his daughter, Carey DuBord; and his wife, Glenda. Ray is survived by his oldest son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Holly Russell and grandsons, David Russell and Daniel Russell (Bark River, Michigan); his middle son, Robert Herioux (Texas); his siblings, Chuck Russell (Johnson City, TX), Donna Denison (Westland, MI), and Sharon Weisenbaugh (Johnson City, TX); his precious dog, Holly; numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

A memorial graveside service will be held on Wednesday, February 16, 1:00 p.m. at the Greenleaf Cemetery in Brownwood, Texas.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Diabetes Association, Hill Country Memorial Hospice, or a charity of choice.

Services entrusted to Brownwood Funeral Home.