H. Ray Burns

1928 - 2012

H. Ray Burns, 83, passed away Sunday, May 27, 2012. Visitation: 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday at Granbury First United Methodist Church, 301 Loop 567, Granbury. Ray will lie in state at Greenwood Funeral Home. Funeral: 3:30 p.m. Thursday in Greenwood Funeral Home Chapel. Interment: Greenwood Memorial Park. Memorials: Parkinson's Disease Foundation, 1359 Broadway, Suite 1509, New York, N.Y. 10018, 800-457-6676, and Granbury First United Methodist Church. H. Ray Burns was born Nov. 6 , 1928, in Tulsa, Okla., to Brooks and Valentine Burns. As a youth, Ray was an active member of Boy Scouts. He earned his Eagle Scout rank and served as a Scoutmaster for many years. Ray also ran track in high school and was awarded a full scholarship to the University of Oklahoma. He lettered 11 times in indoor, outdoor and cross country. Ray was a lifelong OU Alumni member, and he saw two of his grandchildren attend OU. As a graduate in mechanical engineering, Ray went on to work for the same hydraulics and parts manufacturer the rest of his life. He moved to Fort worth to help design and produce the original industrial plant and parts for Stratoflex. He later became the chief engineer and vice president of manufacturing and engineering and helped design other plants internationally. Even after his retirement and moving to Granbury, Ray was a consultant for Parker Hannifin Stratoflex, and he was actively involved in both the Society of Automotive and Engineering and the International Standards Organization. Ray's work was very important to him, but his family always came first. He and his college sweetheart, Grace Collins, enjoyed many happy years together traveling and raising their three children. The family took great pleasure in camping together and making RV trips across the country. Grandchildren were also treated to special excursions during the summer months. After Grace's death, Ray and his current wife of five happy years, Wilma Gideon, met and married at their church in Granbury. Ray's family has called her their "angel" as she had been there for Ray during his long battle with Parkinson's disease. Ray, in the words of one grandson, "was a great man." He was one of those unique individuals whose integrity and wisdom made him not only a remarkable role model but also a great friend to anyone he met. Always the optimist, Ray's noble and giving spirit were with him to the end. He will be dearly missed. He was preceded in death by his first wife of 56 years, Grace Burns, and brother, Earl Burns. Survivors: Wife, Wilma Gideon Burns of Granbury; daughters, Carol Connally and husband, John, of Possum Kingdom and Melinda Sralla and husband, Ron, of Houston; son, Clay Burns Sr. and wife, Linda, of Granbury; grandchildren, Amanda Hoyt and husband, Chris, of Houston, Allison Jacobs and husband, Bryan, of Richardson, Jared Sralla of Houston, Andrew Connally and wife, Kacie, of Midland, Clay Burns Jr. of Granbury; and great-grandchildren, Caitlin and Madison Hoyt of Houston, Matthew and Caroline Jacobs of Richardson and Jaxon Connally of Midland.