OGBURN, Raymond E. (1932-2017)

OGBURN

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 1/28/2019 at 22:44:10

Raymond Eugene Ogburn
(October 3, 1932 - October 10, 2017)

Raymond Eugene Ogburn was born October 3, 1932 in Des Moines, Iowa to Merit Ogburn of Winterset and Alice (Lane) Ogburn of London, England. He was the youngest of 4 children. The family moved to San Francisco, California in 1942 and returned to Iowa to farm near Norwalk in 1946. Ray attended school in Norwalk and Lincoln High School in Des Moines. After graduation Ray helped his father farm near Norwalk before leaving to serve in the Korean War in 1953-1955 as Sergeant First Class. After returning from service in Korea he returned to the family farm near Norwalk.
Ray began studying the bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses and was baptized on January 14, 1962. He loved sharing with others his hope for a better future through God’s kingdom and volunteered in sharing that hope with others on a weekly basis through door to door ministry up until he could no longer walk due to Parkinson’s.
Ray married Myrna Jean Mishler or “Mern” as he lovingly called her, on April 4, 1964 in Des Moines, Iowa and they had 4 children. Ray and Myrna lived in Des Moines, before moving to Guin, Alabama for a few years and returned home again to Iowa. Ray worked for the Des Moines public schools until he retired. He looked forward to spending time outdoors with his family camping, fishing, or just playing catch in the back yard. His love of farming always remained strong and Ray found a lot of enjoyment planting and watching things grow, from the rows of corn on his farm, to the raspberry bushes in his backyard and even his tomato plants on the patio when he moved into assisted living.
Ray never shied away from hard work. He often worked 2 jobs and was always helping out someone either shoveling snow for an elderly person or helping a young family repair their house. Some of the best stories were told after he returned from the annual fishing trips to Canada with his buddies and sometimes they even had fish to prove it. As Ray’s health continued to deteriorate his daughter, Lisa Shaffer and her husband Doug made daily trips to make sure he was comfortable, along with checking on Myrna who is dealing with Alzheimer’s. Together Ray and Myrna made perfect roommates. Ray would remind Myrna what day it was as she would button his shirt.
Ray’s legacy he leaves is his deep love for God, along with his real hope of seeing his family and friends again in a resurrection on earth.
Ray is survived by his wife, Myrna Ogburn of Indianola, IA; children, Wendy Coddington, Lisa (Doug) Shaffer, David (Jessica) Ogburn, Tim (Rochelle) Ogburn and grandchildren Mersadie (Paul) Deininger, Isaac (Mariah) Coddington, Dune Coddington, Nathan Ogburn, Lexi, Caiden and Malachi Ogburn.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Merit and Alice Ogburn and his 3 siblings, Lane, Alice and Bill.
Memorial services will be held 1:30 November 4, 2017 at the Union Park Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses at 1418 E. Washington St. Des Moines, IA
This memorial is provided by Overton Funeral Home, 501 West Ashland Ave., Indianola, Iowa, http://www.overtonfuneral.com/