Ray Marshall Obituary

Funeral services for Rayburn Doyle Marshall, Jr., 72, of Timpson will be held at 2:00pm on Wednesday, April 22, 2026 at First Baptist Church in Timpson with Bro. Kris Craig officiating. Visitation will be held the hour prior to the service, also at First Baptist Church.

Mr. Marshall passed away on Friday, April 17, 2026 in Timpson. He was born on October 20, 1953 in Marshall.

Ray held the bible in the highest respect as the Word of God. It was worth understanding precisely, explaining completely, and believing entirely. He would not define anything as truth that conflicted with God's word. In church or in life.

He had bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry, and his knowledge in that area brought him closer to the bible. He went to creationism conferences and studied Genesis and other creation scripture with a scientist's interest. He found it mathematically absurd that random amino acids could accidentally fall into place to make a large protein, more so in adding complexity after complexity to become life.

His seriousness about the Bible was not limited to Genesis and Creation. He had a sharp eye for understanding when tradition or opinion was conflicting with the Word of God, and he would re-establish the Word as authority.

His co-workers saw it. Although he always worked in secular jobs, not in occupational ministry, there was free discussion of the bible and faith and Jesus at his workplace. Several of his colleagues credited Ray with finding Jesus or becoming closer to Him.

God gave Ray a love of detail and accuracy. His hobbies included archery and ammunition loading – both requiring testing, math, and research. The only books bigger than theology ones were reloading manuals. He tried combinations of materials and weights and calibers. He could tell you the optimal trajectories and cartridge packages to fit any need. Sometimes, there would be gun parts soaking in the kitchen sink. Sometimes, the smell of acetone filled the house. He built his own arrows and discarded fletching's were everywhere. He abandoned rifle hunting for a while, because it was too easy.

He liked methods and answering questions carefully. One time just before deer-hunting season started, he received multiple, large, lightweight boxes at the house. Then, on the first cold night of the fall, we saw a shadowed figure, apparently larger by eight inches than Ray in every direction, standing still, in the dark, outside. He had bought multiple insulated coveralls to test and was trying them one by one. "I'll never be cold again!" he said when finished his testing.

He was a lifelong learner and craved information. From the physics of weather patterns to the rules of badminton, he wanted to know and understand, because he had joy in curiosity.

Ray grew up in Tennessee Community outside Timpson and for a few years in Little Rock, Arkansas. He met his future wife, Diane Bogue, in junior high.

Ray published a book of poems in 1997, including one that was recognized by a regional poetry society. He would sit on a deer stand, waiting for deer, and compose poetry in his head. The topics were mostly narratives from his life, things he learned, God – and things he loved.

"Chinquapin eyes down a junior high hallway…" starts one of Ray's poems. Diane says she saw him first and knew right then that she would marry Ray. Ray says his first solid memory of her was in "number sense" competition practice. Diane then and now believes in love at first sight. But their connection didn't happen immediately.

Their two families were friends growing up. Diane was always the middle child, where Ray and Diane's sister Becky were always together, and Ray's brother Rusty would play with Diane's brother Donald. It wasn't until Ray was at college and Diane was a junior in high school before they got together. They would meet in Center at dances, so it wasn't a date – and Barbara would approve. Then, frog gigging. Bicycle rides on weekends. They were married in August 1974, remaining together over 51 years.

Ray was a Timpson valedictorian and Texas state champion in the UIL science competition, and then a scholarship recipient for his accomplishments. He converted that scholarship to a bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry and physics at Stephen F. Austin State University. Then he began a career of applied chemistry that led to designing quality-control processes for industrial laboratories at Lone Star Feed, Borden Chemical, and ultimately the mining company Covia.

Ray was a conscientious father who was constantly teaching his two sons, Matt (1977) and Nathan (1979). Frequent road trips were chances to give math word problems on the distances between towns. He would critique the physics and chemistry gimmicks on advertised products on TV. Those pumps that go over a 2-liter Coke bottle to keep the liquid from going flat? Sorry, the "partial pressure" of the CO2 is still low. Won' t work.

Nathan once heard Ray and Matt screaming at each other once with the door closed. It was only Ray teaching Matt how to bark a quarterback's cadence while wearing a mouth guard. Ray was also observed wearing a couch cushion on his chest while Matt practiced blocking on him.

He was an outstanding teacher in science, sports, and life. While living in Troup, he had Matt's UIL science team over at the house to teach them test-taking strategies and tutor them on science topics they had not yet covered in the limited curriculum at Troup High School. Of course, they won a state competition, too, just like their coach. Matt also won the same individual title that Ray did, then received the same scholarship. Not bad for a volunteer.

Ray intuitively used data research in sports before it was popularized later. There was no Internet in 1989, but he somehow found Nathan's competitors' times for distance races, made charts and graphs, and created a plan for Nathan to beat them. Ray and Diane took Nathan to meets all over the state, and ultimately Nathan ran in the Junior Olympics.

Ray was quiet, but that just means he was thinking and studying while you were talking. He had a love of games shows (not just trivia). He tried out for Jeopardy, aced the tests, but he says the other hopefuls had more personality. He submitted applications to Survivor TV show. But he did get on The Weakest Link game show and won! He only missed one question.

He was exceptionally intelligent, and he used those gifts in a variety of ways – sometimes quirky. He would measure the amount of wear on the instep and outside of his shoe soles, then go find running shoes that corrected the pronation. He numbered his socks so they would always match and wear-out consistently. He designed elastic sleeves that would train runners (Nathan) to keep their arms high and tight. He sketched out a deer stand with mirrors on the outside for camouflage. He kinda invented the microwave oven…but too late.

He was East Texas through and through, appreciating the complexity of God's creation and also the simple things of contentment. Watermelon, warm and fresh off the vine was a delicacy. He could put a lizard to sleep by rubbing its belly and would get them to bite his earlobe and hang like earrings. His favorite smell? Puppy's breath.

Ray lost his parents at an early age. His father died in 1978 (Ray was 24); his mother, in 1988. Both were quick heart attacks. But Ray made sure he maintained his own health. He pushed and pushed for a diagnosis for a chest pain he had when running, and doctors finally found a kink in a cardiac artery and fixed it with a stent.

Ray moved his family to Gonzales and Shiner, Texas in 1988, but had the chance to move back to East Texas in 1990. Another move to Timpson in 1996, and soon they began restoring an old home on Austin Street that dates back to when Timpson was only a couple decades old. He finished his race there, under the pecan trees and beside that famous railroad line. Of course, Diane was right there, as he wrote more than 30 years earlier in a poem: "How long will my love last? / 'Til we're parted by death. / May I lie in your arms / As I breathe my last breath."

These days, we expect Ray is quite busy enjoying the comfort and glory of his savior and creator, Jesus Christ.

Ray is survived by his wife, Diane, of 51 years, in Timpson, TX. Ray had two sons and five grandchildren. His first son Matt (1977), lives in Houston with his wife Jena and four children, Abilene (2012), Boaz (2014), Sabine (2015), and Fisher (2017). His younger son, Nathan (1979), lives in Timpson with his daughter Abigail (2018).