Rev. H. Doyle Ragle

Rev. H. Doyle Ragle 1918 - 2006 Memorial services for retired Methodist minister and educator the Rev. Herbert Doyle Ragle will be held Sunday, Oct. l, 2006, at 3:00 p.m. at First United Methodist Church in Austin. Rev. Ragle's career spanned 50 years as a beloved and sought-after revival leader, counselor, teacher and pastor in Methodist churches throughout West Texas. He died Monday, Sept. 25, 2006, at the age of 88. He is survived by his daughter Sarah Weddington of Austin; his son John Doyle Ragle and wife Joni of Georgetown; his sister Arline Ragle Rugger of San Antonio; his brother Burney Ragle of Longville, LA; his sister-in-law Mrs. R. P. (Kathryn) Morrison Jr. of Abilene; and many extended family members he loved dearly. He was preceeded in death by his wife Lena Catherine Morrison Ragle in 1993 and by his daughter Wylia Sue Ragle in 1984. Rev. Ragle was born May 18, 1918, in Lovington, NM, and grew up on a family farm outside Olton, TX. He attended Wayland College and graduated from McMurry College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1940. He went on to earn a divinity degree at Perkins School of Theology in Dallas. He and Catherine were married Dec. 13, 1942, the same day he was ordained as a Methodist deacon and elder. Rev. Ragle entered the U.S. Navy in 1943 and served as a chaplain for the next three years, including 18 months on a troop transport ship carrying American service personnel into combat in the Pacific theater in World War II. After his military service he did masters degree studies at Southern Methodist University followed by his first pastorate at the Wylie First Methodist Church outside Abilene and a five-year stint on the religion faculty and as director of religious life at McMurry. At McMurry he was revered by his students and kept in touch with many of them throughout the rest of his life. McMurry recognized Rev. Ragle's life service by awarding him an Honorary Doctorate. He took his family with him to spend summers doing more post graduate work at Columbia University, Garratt Biblical Institute and Pacific School of Religion. In 1952 Rev. Ragle became pastor of the Methodist Church in Munday, followed by pastorates in Canyon and Vernon. In 1970 he joined the Lubbock staff of the Northwest Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church and then served four years as superintendent of the Abilene District. In 1975 he joined the pastoral staff at St. John's United Methodist Church in Lubbock. He led tour groups to the Holy Land and he and Catherine hosted many foreign students at McMurry, including two who became lifelong friends, the late Korean diplomat B. K. Min and Yuri Noe of Estonia, who became a US citizen and Air Force officer. Rev. Ragle was called on throughout West Texas to conduct weddings and funerals and to be part of other significant events in the lives of people touched by his ministry throughout the years. He retired in 1988 and he and Catherine moved to Austin where he was active in First United Methodist Church. As Rev. Ragle's health declined this past summer he chose a Methodist facility, Wesleyan Nursing Home in Georgetown, for his final weeks. The family expresses their heartfelt thanks to the staff and residents of Wesleyan for making Rev. Ragle's final time on earth comfortable and satisfying. The family suggests memorials in Rev. Ragle's honor be sent to the United Methodist Church of choice or to the Faculty-Staff Development Endowment Fund at McMurry University, McMurry Station, Abilene TX 79697.