Ray Allen Greb

Ray Greb was the second son of Henry and Marie Greb. He was born in their family home on October 31, 1944, where he grew up working on the farm with his dad and older brother Harland. Ray attended Deep Creek’s one room classroom until the seventh grade, then was transferred to Okeene High School. He graduated from OHS in 1962. Ray and his good friend Don Fisher attended Oklahoma State Tech school together where he took auto mechanics, refrigeration and air-conditioning, and precision measurement with a 4.0 GPA. Ray joined the Army National Guard from 1965 to 1971. On October 31, 1965, on a blind date in Lindsay Oklahoma, he met his beautiful bride, Lynda Bullock. They married on December 23, 1966, and lived on Lynda’s family farm in Lindsay. He worked at the Chevy House as a mechanic. On January 21, 1969, they had their only daughter Robyn Lynn (Greb) Mathews. In June of 1969 Ray and Lynda moved to Okeene where Ray opened his own automotive repair shop on their own farm. He also raised cattle and grew wheat. After five years, he closed his automotive shop and worked for Grant Irwin’s “Southwest Trucking of Okeene”. In November 1977, Chick Miles sold “Mile’s Appliance” to Ray and Linda, then becoming “Greb Appliance”. Ray and Lynda worked side by side for thirty-one years selling and servicing appliances. He also installed and serviced central heat and air. During those years, he served on the Chamber of Commerce. In Ray and Lynda’s retirement years they enjoyed traveling around the states.

Ray and Lynda attended Zion Baptist Church. While in their younger years, they served as youth group leaders and remained active in many other church activities. He enjoyed bookkeeping for the church and listening to the children recite their scripture memory verses in the Awana program. Ray’s other hobbies included full restoration of classic vehicles and antique tractors. He was a member of the John Deere Two Cylinder Club and the Major County Historical Society. He would display he restored tractors at the Fairview Thrashing Bee where one day a man from the Netherlands purchased three of Ray’s tractors. The tractors were shipped to Holland, to be added to a tractor museum there. Ray designed and built their underground home; it was completed in 1985. He also enjoyed turkey hunting and had the pleasure of getting three turkeys in one shot. We had a great Thanksgiving that year. Spending time on a Sunday afternoon, shooting turtles at the pond with his family was a life-long love. Ray enjoyed photography and would spend hours locked away in his dark room developing pictures. He enjoyed woodworking, making cabinetry, furniture, musical instruments, “what-not-boxes”, and clocks. Ray had a wood turning lathe. He made ink pens, Christmas tree ornaments, toys, and a baby cradle for his new baby grandson Marshall Conlan Mathews, born September 6, 1995. Ray’s mission work included a trip to Mexico to build a house and years of serving at the Fairview Meat Canning Project. Ray had a creative mind, if he didn’t know how to do it, he would figure it out. He always said, “Good tools are your best investment, they save you money if you do the work yourself.” Reading books and spending hours studying his bible became his love as he physically slowed in life. Like in Isaiah 64:8, God continued to mold and shape Ray throughout his life, becoming a beautiful vessel of God.

Ray is preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Marie (Bierig) Greb. His brother Harland Greb.

He is survived by his is wife of fifty-eight years Lynda Greb, his daughter Robyn L. (Greb) Mathews, his favorite son-in-law Jarrett C. Mathews, and grandson Marshall C. Mathews.

A memorial service to honor Ray’s life will be held on Friday, November 7, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. at the Zion Baptist Church in Okeene, Oklahoma. Arrangements by Lanman Funeral Home, Inc. of Okeene. www.lanmanfuneralhome.com Facebook: Lanman Funeral Home Inc.