(From Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home)Louis Ray Burleson passed away on July 28, 2024, in his sleep at the age of 91, at the Spring River Christian Village in Joplin, Missouri, where he had resided for the last six and a half years.
Ray was born in Pyatt, Arkansas, on May 21, 1933, the second child and first son of Arthur and Bessie (Smart) Burleson. The family moved to the Aurora area for a few years when he was a child and then to a farm in Verona, Missouri.
Ray attended school in Verona and graduated from high school in 1951. He played both basketball and baseball during high school. He helped his father on the farm and as a teenager, and he never shied away from hard work. He even dug his mother a basement by hand using a pick and shovel. He developed severe asthma which limited his activities and so he taught himself to crochet in order to stay busy.
After he graduated, he wanted to join the military, but was ineligible due to his asthma. Instead, he went to Southeast Kansas to help with the wheat harvest and joined a semi-pro baseball team. He was a talented pitcher and played with the Washington Senators minor-league team and Frankfort, Kentucky and traveled to Kansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky with the team. He decided baseball was not a good career for him and he returned home to the family farm to help them and to drive a milk truck.
After he graduated, he wanted to join the military, but was ineligible due to his asthma. Instead, he went to Southeast Kansas to help with the wheat harvest and joined a semi-pro baseball team. He was a talented pitcher and played with the Washington Senators minor-league team and Frankfort, Kentucky and traveled to Kansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky with the team. He decided baseball was not a good career for him and he returned home to the family farm to help them and to drive a milk truck.
While delivering milk to a diner in Cassville, Missouri, he decided to eat lunch there and met a cute waitress. He left her a quarter tip (which was a lot then) and asked her on a date. He and Marilyn Hancock were married four months later in Kansas City, Missouri, on December 19, 1953. They were married for 64 years, until Marilyn’s passing on January 24, 2018.
Ray held many jobs and had many hobbies throughout his life. He worked at Westinghouse, Bendix, EFCO, Clark Industries, Teledyne Neosho, Paul Mueller, and taught welding at Monett VO-Tek. He loved to garden and was an avid fisherman and hunter. He was a jack of all trades and a master of them all. Give him a problem and he would figure out how to solve it. He gardened, raised an orchard, did auto body work, was a beekeeper, made stained glass and even laid his own brick and rock on his houses. He also had an unbelievable sweet tooth and made great brown sugar fudge and peanut brittle. He never just sat, he always had to be doing something. Even during Marilyn’s labor with Terri, he crocheted two sets of baby botties.
Ray loved sharing his love of fishing and gardening with his grandkids and great grandkids. Some of his happiest moments were watching his great grandkids picking and eating a fresh strawberry or getting to pick a ripe Ozark Beauty tomato.
Ray is survived by his son, Randy, and his wife, Teresa; daughter, Terri Ryan and her husband, John, and his oldest daughter, Janie Burleson; four grandchildren, Cierra Gaylon and her husband, Trevor, Race Ryan, Kenny Burleson and his wife, Kristina, Clay Burleson and his wife, Natalie; five great-grandchildren, Aleesa, Lyla, Nick, Owen and Stella.
Ray held many jobs and had many hobbies throughout his life. He worked at Westinghouse, Bendix, EFCO, Clark Industries, Teledyne Neosho, Paul Mueller, and taught welding at Monett VO-Tek. He loved to garden and was an avid fisherman and hunter. He was a jack of all trades and a master of them all. Give him a problem and he would figure out how to solve it. He gardened, raised an orchard, did auto body work, was a beekeeper, made stained glass and even laid his own brick and rock on his houses. He also had an unbelievable sweet tooth and made great brown sugar fudge and peanut brittle. He never just sat, he always had to be doing something. Even during Marilyn’s labor with Terri, he crocheted two sets of baby botties.
Ray loved sharing his love of fishing and gardening with his grandkids and great grandkids. Some of his happiest moments were watching his great grandkids picking and eating a fresh strawberry or getting to pick a ripe Ozark Beauty tomato.
Ray is survived by his son, Randy, and his wife, Teresa; daughter, Terri Ryan and her husband, John, and his oldest daughter, Janie Burleson; four grandchildren, Cierra Gaylon and her husband, Trevor, Race Ryan, Kenny Burleson and his wife, Kristina, Clay Burleson and his wife, Natalie; five great-grandchildren, Aleesa, Lyla, Nick, Owen and Stella.
Ray was preceded in death by his wife, Marilyn, his parents, Arthur and Bessie, his sister, Billie Lou Garrison and two brothers, Jerry, and Charles Burleson.
A visitation will be held from 10:00-11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, at Crafton-Cantrell Funeral Home in Aurora, with a funeral service to follow at 11:00 a.m. in the funeral home chapel. A burial will follow at the Maple Park Cemetery in Aurora. Following the services a meal will be served at the Aurora Community building.
Online condolences may be shared at this website.
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