Joe F. Rayl

1928 - 2014

Joe F. Rayl quietly passed away in Bolivar, Mo., on Monday, Sept. 29, 2014. Celebration of life: 11 a.m. Friday at Butler Funeral Home in Bolivar, Mo., 317-326-5233. Interment: Greenwood Cemetery with full military honors. Visitation: 10 a.m. Friday. Memorials: CMH Hospice, 113 E. Broadway, Bolivar, Mo. 65613; or Boy Scouts of America, Ozark Trails Council, 1616 S. Eastgate, Springfield, Mo. 65809. Joe was born Aug. 1, 1928, to Willis Duncan Rayl and Evia Burgess Rayl in Badcaw, Ark. His family soon moved to Lake Worth, Texas, where he graduated from high school and met some of his lifelong best friends. Joe went to SMU on a full football scholarship and transferred to Austin College in Sherman, where he played football and majored in education. Joe and Jane Totten of Sherman were married Dec. 6, 1953. Shortly after their marriage, Joe joined the Navy and was stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Base. While at Great Lakes, their son, Davin, was born. After his Navy service, the family returned to Sherman, where he completed his degree. From there they moved to Durant, Okla., where Joe purchased a small oil company. After two years, Joe went to work for American Petrofina Oil Co. and moved the family to Sedalia, Mo., where they welcomed Jane Ann to the family in 1958. In the early 1960s, the family moved to Bolivar, Mo., where he purchased a petroleum distributorship that he operated until 1984. In the late 1960s, Joe purchased a small bank in Greenfield, Mo., and for the next 40 years pursued his love of banking and building community banks throughout southwest Missouri. He sold his group of banks known as Southwest Bancshares in 1995 and in 1996 purchased Farmers State Bank of Schell City. Farmers State Bank continues to operate today with five locations. He was the principal incorporator, along with other investors, of South Padre Bank in South Padre Island. The family's interest was sold in December 2013. Joe and Jane dedicated the Rayl Polk County Library to the community and to the memory of their son, Davin, in 1998. They were also organizers and investors in the Silo Ridge Golf and Country Club near Bolivar. Joe and Jane gave generous support to the Humane Society, the Boys Scouts and the Republican Party. Joe was preceded in death by his parents; son, Davin; brother, Allen; and sister, Juanita. Survivors: His wife of 60 years, Jane; daughter, Jane Ann and Alan Murray; grandsons, Mathew and Michelle Murray and Oliver and Chauntelle Murray; great-grandchildren, Brooklyn Grace Murray, Lily Mae Murray and Mathew Alexander Murray; brother-in-law, Wally Totten; nephew, Darrel and Karon Ashmore; niece, Kathy Ashmore; and neighbors and friends.