Raymond Karl Neal

Raymond K. Neal passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family on Saturday, July 21, 2018. He was 94.75 years old and he filled every year with purpose, love, family, pride and respect.
Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 AM Friday, July 27, at Lucas and Blessing Funeral Home Chapel, 518 S.W. Johnson Avenue, Burleson, TX. 76028. Dr. Barry Fikes will officiate.
Visitation from 6:00 until 8:00 PM Thursday, July 26, at the funeral home.
Military honors will be offered at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, Dallas, Texas at 9:30 am Tuesday, July 31. Raymond was born in 1923 in Scott County, Kentucky, to tobacco farmers. His family relocated to Indiana where he graduated from Anderson High School as Top Student, Technical Division. After graduation he entered into employment with Delco Remy Division, G.M.C. as a salaried apprentice. At the age of 19, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps and, during training, put an AT6 on the ground while on fire. After spending 13 days zig-zagging the Atlantic on the USS LeJeune and surviving a German sub attack, he was assigned to a squadron whose mission was primarily to provide ground support to our forces, involving dive bombing, rockets and strafing. They were the first to fly combat from German soil. Raymond flew 32 combat missions. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant and served as Squadron Operations Officer as part of the occupation forces that remained in Germany until December, 1945. His journey home entailed a boxcar ride from Germany to France and a 6-day “cruise” with 7,000 troops across the North Atlantic in December where they encountered one of the worst North Atlantic hurricanes ever, sub-zero temperatures, 115 knot winds, ice bergs, 80 ft. waves and came one degree short of capsizing. Their ice-encrusted ship made the front-page of the NY Times as they arrived to American soil on Christmas Day! Raymond ended his military career as Base Police and Prison Officer, and later Provost Marshal, in Merced, California. He was promoted to Captain and assigned to inactive reserve in December, 1946.
After the war Raymond returned to Indiana, met the love of his life, Joan Carraway, and they married in 1947. In 1951, he and his devoted wife relocated to Texas where he began a career with Vought/LTV which lasted 34 years. As a self-taught aerospace engineer, Raymond’s career spanned Tool Design, Mfg. R&D, Advanced Mfg. Technologies, CAD & Mfg. and Mfg. Computer Integration.
Immediately upon retiring, he took a position with Lockheed Missiles and Space which saw he and Joan relocate to California then to Georgia. He spent 6 yrs. working on computer program development and integration. Upon his return to Texas and the realization that “retirement” did not suit him, he spent the next 8 yrs. as a contractor for a start-up in Dallas where he designed automated packaging systems and machinery.
With Raymond’s final “retirement”, he joined the Vought Heritage Retirees’ Club. They voluntarily restored Vought airplanes for museum placement. Vought’s 1942 experimental aircraft, the V-173 “Flying Pancake”, was in storage with the Smithsonian. The museum had denied all of Vought’s requests to restore it due to the hazards of moving it 1,600 miles. Raymond designed the container and trailer transport which allowed the plane to be moved to Texas for restoration. It took 8 yrs. to complete the restoration and the beautiful craft is on display at the Frontiers of Flight Museum. He was truly happy when he was designing, creating and contributing.
Raymond’s life’s love departed in 2011. He joined the Volunteer Auxiliary of Huguley Memorial Hospital in an expression of gratitude for all they had done for his wife over the previous few years. For the next 6 ½ yrs., Raymond dedicated himself to helping others and easing hearts and minds. He was a light in the organization, displayed in the loving multitudes of his second family, displayed in the loving multitudes of his second family at the hospital. Raymond awarded the Rookie Volunteer of the Year and subsequently nominated for Volunteer of the Year. He did not receive that award, which did not matter because his reward was the joy and fulfillment he received in helping others.
His life exemplified service and respect…defending our country, contributing to our National Defense, providing a terrific life for his family, welcoming and comforting others in need.
Raymond is survived by two daughters, a son-in-law, numerous nieces and nephews, several war buddies, and the large Huguley Volunteer family. Raymond will be greatly missed, fondly remembered and always loved.