Milburn Ray Evans

Milburn Ray Evans was born January 3, 1928 in Jasper, Alabama. He passed peacefully on December 4, 2024 at the young age of 96. He was the middle of three boys. Alabama family often referred to him as Milburn, however once he arrived in Texas, everyone knew him as Ray.

Ray left Alabama hitchhiking his way to California. He and his buddies ran out of money by the time they reached Houston. They found odd jobs, slept in cars at the repair shop but he returned to working in the grocery business quickly. During this time, he met a pretty girl at a diner where he would order coconut cream pie. That pie led to being married 48 years to Jean, until her passing in February of 1999. He never made it to California.

Ray’s work life started by working in the grocery business as a teenager in Jasper Alabama for E.K Barnes. One occasion he was struck by a car while delivering groceries on his bicycle. The next day he found cans of green beans in the ditch and promptly delivered them to the customer. Ray also enlisted in the Army serving state side as a medic toward the end of WWII. Once in Houston, he worked for Clayton’s Super Market, then moved on to working for Red Womack. This led to him owning and managing the Berkshire Village Minimax store in the early 1960’s. Over the years Ray built up and sold a few drive-in grocery stores. His last store was Evans Grocery Mart on the corner of Harris & Witter. The grocery business was his vocation for more than 30 years.

Ray loved to fish, had a couple of boats and ran a shrimp boat for a time. This led him into opening C & E Marine Sales and Service Center on Preston Rd. He soon found out the marine service business did not leave much time for fishing. After selling the boat business in the late 80’s he found that retirement wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Instead of embracing retirement he went to work for Garner Environmental Services, supervising oil spill cleanup crews. After traveling all over the U. S. doing environmental work for 10 years, he retired again.

Ray had a rigid moral code: he was a man of his word, honest and had a strong work ethic. While an upstanding man, this did not prevent him from telling the mischievous stories of his youth and pranking family and friends alike. His code and playfulness were passed on to his children and grandchildren.

Ray had many titles in his life, he was a caring, loving husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, as well as an uncle, great uncle, great-great uncle and a friend to many.

Ray is preceded in death by his loving wife of 48 years, Jean Evans, his parents, Nettie and John Evans, his brothers Charles and Clyde, and grandson in law, Darren Eubank.

Ray is survived by his children Sandra & husband Chuck, Stephen & wife Patti. His pride and joy were his grandchildren Brecia, Chantal (Justin), Blake (Lindsay), Marissa, and Brad (Alyssa). The bonus delights of his life were his great grandchildren Bryce, Elizabeth, Arlo, Emersyn and Boston.

A visitation will be held at Grand View Funeral Home, located at 8501 Spencer Highway, Pasadena, Texas, 77505, on December 12, 2024, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

The funeral service will take place at the same venue on December 13, 2024, from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm, followed by a graveside service from 3:00 pm to 3:30 pm.