Hersel Ray Bush was born to Vera Lavinnie Rhodes Bush and Wiley Perry Bush on July 14, 1933 in Timpson, Texas. On one of our trips to East Texas he pointed to a tree in the middle of a pasture along an unnamed dirt road and declared with a smirk that he was born under that exact tree. He had such warm memories of his childhood years in East Texas. He remembered running barefoot through the woods as a very small child. He often told a story about losing his toenail after running through a briar patch on his way to his Grandma and Grandpa Bush’s house. He and his brothers, Hulon and Hubert were always together during their many adventures and misadventures. When he was eight the family left East Texas and moved to the East End in Houston. He developed life-long friendships at Sam Houston High School. The family later moved to his parents’ final home in Oak Forest.
Ray worked as a hatter for Shudde Brothers on Washington Avenue. He also served in the National Guard for over eight years. He eventually worked for GE as a fabricator until he retired at 55.
At the wedding rehearsal of Hubert and Ollie (Ray’s brother and Jean’s cousin), Ray met Jean. The next day Ray, the best man and Jean, the maid of honor walked down the aisle together. Little did they know that it would be one of two times that they walked down the aisle. She turned down his date request. One year later they met at Ollie and Hubert’s house and started dating. On June 6, 1957 Ray married the love of his life, Jean. Their first home on Hewitt soon was filled with two children, Patricia (Tricia) and Ray Jr. (Bubby). In 1973, they moved to their home on Bethlehem. They joined Pinemont Baptist Church when it first started. Later, Ray and Jean became members of Garden Oaks Baptist Church. He loved God and Jesus and always prayed for the ones he loved.
He loved making friends, sharing stories, reading history, solving crossword puzzles, painting, drawing, sketching and doodling. Any paper within arm’s reach was in danger of a sketch or doodle, especially church bulletins. He loved any kind of sport. His favorite team was the Texas Longhorns and he watched the Longhorn channel religiously. He also played pool, basketball and even ping-pong. Ray loved to travel and to show his family all 48 continental states, Mexico and Canada. He really enjoyed his trip to France and Germany on their 50th anniversary. His favorite thing to do was to make people laugh and did that regularly with his quick wit, jokes and facial expressions.
His family was very important to him. He absolutely adored his wife, Jean and their two children, Tricia and son-in-law Stephen; Ray Jr. and daughter-in-law, Laurie; his grandchildren – Dustin and his girlfriend Amy, Kimberley, Eric and his wife Michelle and Daniel. He was also blessed to be the great grandpa of Lily, who he affectionately called “Lily of the Valley”. Ray loved being a brother to Hulon and his wife, Francis, Hubert and his wife, Ollie and an uncle to Karen, Gary, Chau, Michael, Lisa, Glenn, Kathy, Tyler, Myrna, Zechy, Jaimeson, Jessica, Tyler, Amanda, Rene, Brielle and Margaux. Ray had may dear cousins that were a huge part of his life.
Hersel Ray Bush’s memorial service will be held at Garden Oaks Baptist Church at 3206 N. Shepherd Dr. Houston, TX 77018 on Wednesday, March 24, 2021 at 1:00pm.
Memorials may be made to:
Alzheimer’s Foundation of America
322 Eighth Avenue 7th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Tel: (866) 232-8484
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