Ray L. Phillips, 81, a servant of Jesus, went to be with Him on Dec. 5, 2019, at Grays Harbor Community Hospital in Aberdeen.

Ray was born April 7, 1938, in St. Anthony, Idaho to Lee and Ella (Ellis) Phillips. As a young toddler the family moved to a cabin his Dad built on the upper part of the Smith Creek in Washington. In his early schooling, he went to Willapa Valley and Raymond school districts. In the mid-’40s the family moved to Kirby, Oregon, near Grants Pass, where he graduated high school at the Illinois Valley H. S. of Grants Pass.

Sometime after graduation, he moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming where his oldest brother Dan was, and did roofing jobs and others, until heading to Fort Carson of Denver, in January of 1959, where he enlisted in the Army. Within a week he arrived at Fort Benning, Georgia, where he was in the 2nd Infantry Division. A few months later he was off to Fort Sam Houston, Texas for medical training, which he decided was not for him. In June, he was ordered to report to the 82nd Airborne which he loved. He ended with 21 jumps, five of which were particularly memorable.

Also during this time it became evident he had a knack for numbers and found himself working as the payroll clerk. The only thing about that was it cut into his jump time. He was released in March of 1962 and honorably discharged Dec. 31, 1964.

After release, he went back to visit family and then to Jackson, Wyoming where he became an ordained minister with the AG. While in Wyoming, he married Latricia Mae Trout in Torrington, Wyoming on Dec. 21, 1965. They were in ministry until the early ’70s, when they came back to Washington for his parents’ 50th wedding anniversary.

They moved to the South Beach in the late ’70s, where Ray worked on the cranberry bogs off and on up until 2016. He also worked at Coast Oyster in South Bend and Markham. Also for the city of Westport in the water department where he moved up to supervisor, retiring in 2003.

After 32 plus years of marriage, his wife Latricia went to be with Jesus Aug. 6, 1998.

Ray was a founding member of South Beach Christian Center, where he sought the help of the AG to start a Pentecostal church here on the South Beach. He always did evangelist work, right out of high school. He was an active member of the Gideons for 32 years. He always carried a New Testament in his pocket whenever he left the house. He loved to read, work, hunt, coach, especially pitching batting practice for Little League and up, until the age of 75. Also he went to the Juvenile Detention Center every Tuesday evening where he ministered to kids. He loved to play church softball and was an avid Ocosta School fanatic. He loved to watch his grandsons play ball, but he followed everyone, boys and girls, passionately and could be seen in the bleachers home and away.

Ray is survived by his daughter, Ginger (Ben) Quinby of Grayland; sons, Troy (Michelle) of Aberdeen and Allen of Ocosta, Washington; two sisters, Doris Porter of South Bend, Washington and Kathy James of Marysville, California; a brother, Paul (Gerry) of Springfield, Oregon; three grandsons, Jason (Lindsey) Quinby, Zach (Oreian) Quinby and Tommy (Phylicia) Quinby; and 10 great-grandkids plus one on the way (8 ½ of them live in Grayland). He was preceded in death by his brother Dan Phillips.

A celebration of his life will be on Sunday, Jan. 5, at 3 p.m. at South Beach Christian Center in Grayland, Washington. The family asks in lieu of cards, any monetary gifts be made to the Gideons International because every penny goes to purchase Bibles for the lost.

A message of condolence or memory can be sent to the family at www.fernhill­funeral.com.

Cremation arrangements are entrusted to Twibell’s Fern Hill Funeral Home in Aberdeen, Washington.