Raymond Lee Jones

Raymond Lee Jones, lovingly known to his family as "The Big and Growly Bear," came into this life at Methodist Central Hospital, in Dallas, TX, in 1942. He departed to his Heavenly home, surrounded by his loving wife and family, on July 1st, 2021.
As a child, Raymond lived in California for several years during World War II, before moving to Texas and serving as a Dallas firefighter. Raymond and his sweetheart, Sharon, were married November 1, 1966. Within the ranks of firemen, there's a well-known saying, "Firemen will do anything for you and TO you." They were all pranksters. So, although Raymond thwarted his fellow firefighters from the tradition of pranking newly married guys for a while, they eventually caught him, threw him in a large sink full of water, and sent him home soaking wet from the firehouse! The newlyweds bought a lovely house on Swiss Avenue, originally built in 1919, and moved it to land Raymond previously bought on Windy Lane in Cedar Hill. Starting with the erection of the famous windmill, over the next several years, Raymond literally poured his heart, soul, and sweat into making improvements, which fulfilled their dream of having a lovely home. The land and home soon became adoringly known as "The Place" to their close-knit family and friends.
Being a kind and dependable husband, father, and grandfather was of the utmost importance to Raymond, and he certainly did not disappoint when it came to wholeheartedly loving his family.
Raymond's children, Carrie and Michael, grew up enjoying his love of the outdoors and have many fond memories camping and fishing as a family. Their family eventually grew to include 9 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. Some of the best memories his grandchildren have are helping him in the kitchen as he prepared his Best Million Dollar Fudge and scrumptious Popcorn, fixed the old-fashioned way on the cooktop! It just didn't get any better than that!
Raymond was a strong Christian man who cherished his family throughout his entire life. He also served on the Board of Directors for The Masters' Academy over 20 years, alongside his dear friends, Dean and Elderine Wyrick. He was a co-owner and operator at A-Plus Computers with his good friends, Rik and Russell Wyrick, for over five years.
Raymond often said of himself that he was a jack of all trades and a master of none. But, as anyone who ever met him soon discovered, Raymond was an extraordinarily talented and intelligent man who seemed to have a knowledge of everything, no matter what the subject might be. Raymond's intelligence was only surpassed by his servant's heart. This sparked his passion for serving his community, and he joined the Dallas Fire Department in 1963. He was a dedicated Dallas firefighter for over 32 years. He spent much of his career at Station 18, where he enjoyed cooking for the entire station. The firefighters soon realized his home cooking was the best! One of the fondest memories the station had was also enjoying one of Sharon's most-delicious homemade orange cakes hand delivered by her to Raymond at the station every year on his birthday. And, for years, on Thanksgiving and Christmas, many wonderful memories were made, as all the firefighters' families gathered to celebrate.
Raymond also adored his '56 Ford pickup truck, "White Tornado." It's interesting that the truck was discovered on a fellow firefighter's land, after draining a pond. Once the pond was drained, they discovered White Tornado just sitting there at the bottom of the pond in all its glory!
During his career, Raymond served as the official Engineer Driver. During his retirement, he was also the Engineer Driver by making sure he shared his adventurous career with his grandchildren by personally taking each of them on a tour of the Firefighter's Museum, while sharing memories of his firefighting days. He also shared many firefighting memories with Philip Foley, a personal friend and volunteer at the Firemen's Museum. He continued to be a regular fixture at the Museum for many years following his retirement.
The man knew how to appreciate a challenging game of dominoes and a good game of cards with his fellow firefighters! After retirement, he was introduced to Mexican Train Dominoes, and enjoyed playing all those games with his family and friends.
In addition to his adoring wife, Sharon Jones; children, Carrie Lynnette Rayburn and Raymond "Michael" Jones, daughter-in-law, Holly Lynn Jones, Raymond is survived by his grandchildren, Billie "Roxanne" Turnage, Stacie Marie Rayburn, Kellie Michelle Lee, Jared Dalton Lewis Rayburn, Ireland Noel Jones, London Michael Jones, Zealand Nicholas Jones, and Paris Noel Jones; great-grandsons, Gary, Jr., Raymond, Tristan, Shane, Vincent, Andrew; and great-granddaughters, Destinee, Haylee, Serenitee, Abby, Lily, and Mary. He was preceded in passing by his stepfather, St. Elmo "Curly" Mordah; mother, Juanita "Skeet" Mordah; son-in-law, Steven Rayburn; granddaughter, Brandie Burt; uncle, "Daddy Clyde" Watts; and aunt, Irene "Dutchie" Watts.
A full fireman's funeral service will be held at First Baptist Church Red Oak, 320 East Ovilla Road, Red Oak, TX, at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 8, 2021. Burial will be at Laureland Cemetery in Dallas, at 2:30 p.m. There will be a viewing and visitation at the funeral location beginning at 12:00 p.m., on the same day. His family will be present to welcome loved ones.
Optional memorial donations may be made to the Otis E. Banks Burial Fund at www.causeIQ.com, which provides immediate assistance to the families of deceased firefighters.