Pictures and baptism
certificate courtesy of Betty Rusk. |
||||
 Dick Ray as a teenager with fiddle he bought with money he earned selling bluing. |
 Katie Annie Williams Ray 18 Years Old - 1922 on Wilson Creek |
|||
|
Katie Annie Williams Ray's grandfather, Thomas Johnson Williams, came to Texas from Arkansas with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Williams of Kentucky, in 1820 at the age of thirteen. In 1822, Thomas and his father helped Stephen F. Austin move his colony to Bay Prairie, and was paid with a barrel of flour. At the age of twenty-nine, he was fighting under General Sam Houston at San Jacinto, and was the one to discover Santa Anna disguised as just a poor soldier. Thomas Johnson Williams was born in Arkansas on November 17, 1807. On January 10, 1856, he married Rebecca Horton, who was born on May 23, 1829, in Georgia. He died on October 5, 1889, and she on January 3, 1908. They were buried in the Williams Cemetery at Ashby, Texas.
Thomas and Rebecca were the parents of five children.
Their first child was Thomas Jefferson, born on August 8, 1857, at
Rainey Creek, Texas. On September 21, 1894, he married Mable E. Grant
and they had eleven children: Floyd Cold Williams - August 26, 1896 - February, 1952; Malcom Julian Williams - December 23, 1897 - October, 1942; Bertha Elizabeth Williams - born July 1899 James Calloway Williams - November 3, 1900 - October, 1956; Ella Irene Williams - born February 2, 1902 Katie Annie Williams - March 17, 1904 - [April 17, 1996] Alice Rebecca Williams - November 22, 1905 - October, 1984 Bradford Irving Williams - born November 5, 1908 Daisy Christina Williams - born January 3, 1910 Vallie Pertle Williams - May 1, 1911 - June, 1950 Thomas Jefferson Williams died on January 21, 1928 and was buried in the Williams Cemetery at Ashby, Texas. Mable Elizabeth Williams and her mother, Mable Kuykendall Douglas, died during the influenza epidemic of October, 1918. Katie Annie Williams was born on the home place on the Tres Palacios River and Wilson Creek at Ashby, Texas, and attended the Ashby School. She married Dick Ray in 1922. Dick owned and operated the Shoe Repair and Leather Shop in Palacios for forty-five years. He died in 1980, and was buried in the Ashby Cemetery.
Katie Annie and Dick had three children.
In 1984 Annie resided at 514 Welch Street in
Palacios. |
||||
 Ray's Shoe Repair and Leather Shop c 1945 - Palacios, Texas |
||||
 |
||||
|
||||
 Ray's Leather and Saddle Shop - Mabank, Texas - c 1935 |
||||
|
She was born March 17, 1904 in Ashby, Texas to Thomas J. and Mabel Elizabeth Douglas Williams. She was a lifelong resident of the Palacios area and a member of the Trinity Baptist Church. She is survived by one daughter, Betty Jo Rusk of Palacios, by one son, Billy L, Ray of Sweeny, by one brother, Irving Williams of Lake Jackson, by five grandchildren, Couguezc Schraeder of Hardy, Virginia, Rachel Burns of Green River, Wyoming, Geren Rusk of Ridgeway, Colorado, Benny Ray Rusk of Alvin, Texas, and Terry Ray of Columbus, Mississippi, and by six great grandchildren and one great great grandchild. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dick Ray in 1979 and by one son, Richard Ray during WWII in 1944. Funeral services are scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, April 20, 1996 at the Palacios Funeral Chapel with Jeff English officiating. Burial will follow at the Ashby Cemetery in Ashby, Texas. Pallbearers include, Geren Rusk, Benny Ray Rusk, John Rossler, Howard Holloway, Harold Hunt, Vernon Hunt and Terry Ray. Arrangements are with Taylor Bros. Funeral Home in Palacios. The Daily Tribune,
April 18/19, 1996 |
||||
|
||||
|
Dick Ray, 79, of Palacios died January 15 at the Wagner General Hospital in Palacios. He had been a resident of Palacios for 43 years and was the owner and operator of the Shoe & Leather Shop for the past 40 years. Survivors include: wife, Mrs. Katie Ray of Palacios; one daughter, Mrs. Betty Rusk of Palacios; one son, Billy Ray of Lake Jackson; one sister, Mrs. Winnie Countryman of Kaufman; five grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday at the Palacios Funeral Home with Rev. J. R. Gwin officiating. Interment will be at the Ashby Cemetery. Taylor Bros. Palacios Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. The Daily Tribune,
January 15, 1979 |
||||
| Staff Sergeant Richard Ray, Jr. | ||||
|
Betty Jo Rusk, 96, passed away March 27, 2024. She was born September 30, 1927 in Palacios, Texas to the late Richard “Dick” Ray and Katie Annie Williams Ray. She grew up in Palacios with many friends and cousins. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by two brothers Richard Ray, Jr. and Billy Lee Ray. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Palacios and has always loved the Lord. She was a fifth generation of the Thomas Williams and Captain Robert H. Kuykendall families who came to Texas from Arkansas and settled in Matagorda County, Texas in 1821. They were members of Stephen F. Austin’s old 300 in 1821. In 1824 they received land grants at Cedar Lake. Her education came from Palacios Public Schools. She first attended North Texas University and graduated from Stephen F. Austin with a BS in Education. She taught school for 34 years. After retirement, she became an active member of the Palacios Athena and PAHA Clubs and the City by the Sea Museum. She worked at the historic Luther Hotel for 7 years and worked at the Matagorda County Museum in Bay City putting archives on-line. She was also an active member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas for 25 years and enjoyed Austin's Old 300 Club until it was disbanded. While a member of the Bay City Genealogical Society, she did research in order to receive a Historical Marker for Ashby, her mother’s hometown and the Wilson Creek Area. She also did research on the old family Johnson Williams Cemetery and restored it to receive a Distinguished Service Award from Austin. The Cemetery Dates back to 1820. She spent her time gardening, canning, reading, traveling, playing 42 and enjoying her family. She also spent time working at second jobs. One summer she sold World Book Encyclopedias, outselling all the southern states. For this she won a set of large-print of World Book Encyclopedias and donated them to the Palacios Elementary School. Betty is survived by two daughters Rachel Burns and Coqueze Schrader, two sons Geren Rusk and Ray Rusk, 17 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. Visitation will begin at 9:00 AM Saturday, April 6, 2024 at the First United Methodist Church in Palacios. Funeral service will be at 10:00 AM with Rev. Phillip Higginbotham officiating. Interment will follow at the Ashby Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donatons may be made in her memory to Ashby Cemetery Fund: c/o Benny Ray Rusk; 17533 Sundancer; Jonestown, TX 78645.
Taylor Bros. Funeral Home |
||||
|
Billy Lee Ray, 86, of Sweeny, Tx passed away on Sunday, May 7, 2023. Born May 10, 1936, in Palacios, Tx to the late Richard “Dick” Ray, Sr. and Katie Annie (Williams) Ray. Billy graduated with a diploma from Palacios High School in 1956. During his childhood, he enjoyed playing tennis, baseball, and going fishing. He went on to receive a diploma in Radio & TV Repair and he was a Certified Locksmith, earning him the “Master Pick” award from Frigidaire (then an appliance division of GME). He began working in appliance repair in 1958 in Palacios before moving to Lake Jackson, Tx in 1964 to work for Jack Reid appliances. After John Champagne bought out the business, he continued working for “Champagne’s” until his retirement in 2019. Additionally, Billy also worked as a union Moving Picture Machine Operator for 14 years at various theaters throughout the Brazoria area. In December 1979, he and his family moved from Palacios to Sweeny, Tx where he became an active member of the First Baptist Church. In his later years, he continued his love of fishing and found a joy for metal detecting, traveling, camping, and collecting coins of every variety. In recent years, he found community and friendship among those at the Bulldog, Sit and Be Fit, and the notorious gang of “Chicken Foot” players. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Gladys Mae (Simpson) Ray of Palacios, Tx (married June 18, 1960); their son, Terry Lee Ray (Cherry King) of Plantersville, Ms. and his older brother, Staff Sgt. Richard Ray, Jr. Survivors include granddaughter Katherine Michelle Ray Peterson (Craig Peterson, Jr.) of Tacoma, WA.; sister Betty Jo Rusk of Bay City; two step-grandsons Robert Brandon Sipple of Lake Jackson and Tyson Lloyd Sipple (Sara Matula) of Victoria; and five grandchildren. Visitation will begin at 9 AM on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at the First Baptist Church in Sweeny. Funeral Services will be at 10 AM. Interment will follow at Ashby Cemetery. Pallbearers are Geran Rusk, Robert Brandon Sipple, Tyson Lloyd Sipple, Doug Devoe, Clayton Orr, and Rodney Earles. Pat Patterson is named Honorary Pallbearer. In lieu of flowers or gifts, please consider donations to the Children’s Department at the First Baptist Church of Sweeny, Tx.
Taylor Bros. Funeral Home |
||||
Katie Annie Ray, 92, of
Palacios passed away April 17, 1996 in Palacios.
RAY