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Worship service of Christian faith, remembrance and resur rection of Robert Turman Ragsdale 77, was held Satur day, June 25, in the chapel of Brister-Lawson Funeral Home in Meridian. Officiating were Pastor Bryant Thornburg of Clifton First Baptist Church, who preached the sermon, “A Life Built on Christ The Rock,” based on Mat. 7:24-29. He was assisted by Pastor Ted Steenblock of Clifton Trinity Lutheran Church and neighbor of the Ragsdales, who read Scripture, offered prayer, and read a brief life history of the deceased. Soloist was L. B. (Mitt) Vance, who sang “Good Night and Good Morn ing’ and “God Understands.” Organist was Mrs. Kay Mit chell of Meridian. The service was completed in Walnut Springs Cemetery with words of comfort and prayer by the pastors followed by burial. Pallbearers were neph ews: Silas Ragsdale, Robert Wayne Ragsdale, Gary Rags day, Scott Ragsdale, Willard Dearson and Ollie Davis. The final illness of Mr. Rags dale began in 1974 and the first of three surgeries was per formed in Goodall - Witch Hospital. It was there, while recovering from his third sur gery, that he died June 23. Mr. Ragsdale was born Jan. 25, 1900, at Lanham in Hamil ton County, the son of Silas and Maude Strophy Ragsdale. He was the oldest of seven chil dren, four boys and three girls He grew up in Duffau, near Hico, and was graduated from Duffau High School As a boy, he made his de cision for Christ and was bap tized from the Baptist Church in Duffau. Dec. 26, 1925, he and Leota Rowland of White Settlement at Fort Worth were married in Dallas. To them was born an infant son who died soon after birth. For some years after gradua tion he worked in the oil fields of mid Texas. After his mar riage he was employed for some 15 years as a salesman of oil fields supplies by a company out of Tulsa. For a time he was wholesale distributor at Morgan for an oil company. For some 25 years he lived in Abilene where he worked at nearby Dyeas Air Force Base in the Civil Service connected with the Corps of Engineers. In 1968 he retired and moved with his wife to Clifton where they built their home at 203 N Avenue Q. He was an active member in four Baptist congregations: the Baptist Church at Duffau, a Baptist Church in Corpus Christi, Southwest Park Ba tist Church in Abilene, and First Baptist Church of Clifton. He attended Sunday School and worship faithfully and for a time taught a Sunday School class in Clifton First Baptist. He loved church hymn-sings. He was sincere in his Christian beliefs and practiced them. He enjoyed family get-togethers and would often travel long distances with his wife in order to be present. He was a com passionate man and enjoyed his walks, friends said. He was a loving husband and good pro vider. He was preceded in death by the infant son, his youngest sis ter, Pearl, in the Texas City disaster, and by his parents. He is survived by three brothers, S. Ernest of Clifton, G. Wayne of Cleburne and R. Garland of Hamilton; two sis ters, Mrs. A. L. (Ruth) Pate of Brownwood, and Mrs. L. L. (Ada) Deason of Glen Rose, and by several nephews and nieces
Newspaper Details
Clifton Record
Clifton, Texas, US
Thu, Jul 07, 1977
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Mary H.
TX, USA 28 May 2026
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