Funeral services for Raymond Earl Gilmore, 99, of Nacogdoches will be held at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, May 18, at Christ Episcopal Church with the Reverend David Greer officiating. Burial will be at Oak Grove Cemetery.
Mr. Gilmore entered the larger life May 16, 2011.
He was born to Matthew Bryant Gilmore and Ola Hassell on December 3, 1911, in Palestine, Texas. He was raised on a farm near Slocum, Texas, in Anderson County which had been in the Gilmore family since the 1850’s. He graduated from Palestine High School and attended Stephen F. Austin State College, and graduated from the Rutgers School of Banking. He first worked at Meyer & Schmidt until going to work for the Stone Fort National Bank where he worked for 46 years until his retirement. He was devoted to his church, Christ Episcopal, and served as Sunday School Superintendent, as a delegate to Council, as lay reader, and as chalice bearer, as a member of the choir and many years as a member of the vestry. He served in the United States Navy in the South Pacific during World War II. He was a member of the Evening Lions Club and the Rotary Club, serving as secretary and receiving the Paul Harris Award. He served as ring master for The Greatest Little Horse Show on Earth, the horse shows held in Nacogdoches, from 1940 to 1975 and then in the early 1980’s. He was married to Inez Washburn Gilmore who preceded him in death January 14, 2003. He loved to play golf and was the oldest living member of the Piney Wood Country Club until his death.
He is survived by his daughter, Sarah Alice Millard and her husband George H. Millard, Jr.; his granddaughters, Claire Edith Gilmore and Sarah Johanna Gilmore; a sister, Mrs. Ruby Reed; an aunt, Mrs. Lottie Sullivan; and cousins, Emmie Peacock, Nancy Tipton, George Tipton (Tip) Smith, and John Sullivan.
Pallbearers will be Bill Patton, Bryan Holt Davis, George Clark, III, John Fleming, Ron Collins, and John Mast. Honorary pallbearers will be Thomas Wright, Billy Willis, Roland Muckleroy, Ray Rinker, Gayle Wyatt, John Pack, Jim Byers, Charles Lee Bass, George Fitch, Mark Clark and Paul Davis.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Christ Episcopal Church or School, 502 E. Starr Avenue, Nacogdoches, Texas 75961 and the Humane Society of Nacogdoches, P.O. Box 631244, Nacogdoches, Texas 75963.
Visitation will be at the church from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Wednesday.
Condolences may be made at www.casonmonk-metcalf.com
Cason Monk-Metcalf Funeral Directors
