Don Raulie

Don was born in Chillicothe, Missouri on August 28, 1936 to Ralph R. and Irene E. (Gladbach) Raulie, who precede him in death. He attended schools in Chillicothe and graduated from Harlingen High School in Harlingen, Texas. He attended college at the St. Louis Institute of Music, where he received a Bachelor of Music Degree. On June 5, 1958, Don married Joyce L. Holloway in Clayton, Missouri.

After graduating from college in 1958, he and Joyce established a music studio in Harlingen, where they worked for eight years. In 1966, Don joined the staff of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce, as the manager of the Chamber’s Convention Department. In the 35 years that followed, he headed convention and visitor bureaus in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Hot Springs, Arkansas, and Laredo, Texas. During his years in the convention and visitor industry, he served as a member of the International Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus Board of Directors, President of the Tulsa Society of Association Executives, the Skal Club of Tulsa and the Arkansas Travel Council. He was a founding member of the Oklahoma Travel Industry Association.

He was a lifelong member of the Catholic Church. He and Joyce established choirs at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Harlingen and at St. John’s Catholic Church in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Don also directed the choir at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in McAllen, and sang in the choir at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was an active participant in various other church related activities, including the Knights of Columbus. Don was a member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Austin. He also served as President of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, St. Christopher Conference.

Those left to cherish Don’s memory include his wife of 53 years, Joyce L. Raulie of Cedar Park, and his sons, Stephen M. and wife Susan Raulie of Tulsa, OK, and their children, Phillip, Jacob and Brandon; David W. Raulie of Hot Springs, AR; and Scott C. and wife Jennifer Raulie of Cedar Park, and their children, Holloway and Bren. He is also survived by his brothers, F. Gene Raulie of Cedar Park, and Paul E. Raulie of Excelsior Springs, Missouri.

Family and friends are invited to a visitation from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Friday, May 11, 2012, with prayer and rosary services beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Cook-Walden Chapel of the Hills Funeral Home, 9700 Anderson Mill Road, Austin. A Funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, May 12, 2012 at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 9500 Neenah, Austin.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donation be made in Donald's name to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church or St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church Building Fund.

To share memories of Don with the family, please visit www.cookwaldenchapelofthehills.com.