Ray F. Medlock, Sr. Memorial Obituary, Arkansas

🇺🇸 Thank you to our veterans and members of all branches of service.

Written by daughter, Margaret

I’m proud of my daddy, Lieutenant Colonel Ray F. Medlock, United States Army Reserve, now stationed closer to God. He had over 32 years of service. After hec retired, he still traveled to teach Signal Corps classes. After he had dementia in his last years, he still prayed aloud for our troops. As a dad, he was strict and every bit as loving. He has enormous amounts of wisdom and knowledge and was equally quick with humor. He and I knew each other’s humor so well that we could tell each other jokes without even saying them. He was the State Headquarters Detachment Commander when I was younger, but I’m most thankful to God that he’s my Dad.

Ray F. Medlock, Sr.
1940 - 2020

SLIDESHOW
My husband Bryan & daughter Ella are making a slideshow video of my Dad. It’s still a work in progress, but here’s a first draft. There’s a sad photo of my grandma in a rehab hospital, but someone said it’s a memory of life & a reminder that my dad was always there for us. In many ways, he still is. 💕

https://youtu.be/lncYZZGQVWA

Ray F Medlock Sr

Lieutenant Colonel Ray Forsyth Medlock, Sr., United States Army Reserve (Retired), was welcomed home to be with the Lord on July 27, 2020. He was born on April 2, 1940, in North Little Rock, Arkansas, to Rayburn Forsythe Medlock and Hilda W. Rasnick Medlock.

In truth, Ray arrived on April 1, with a brilliant shock of red hair. The doctor said, “We can’t let this baby have an April Fool’s birthday. With that hair, he’d have 2 strikes against him”. The doctor didn’t sign any papers until midnight. Baby Ray received a new birth date, but he got to keep the same hair.

Ray’s earliest memories were of giving drinks to the WW2 soldiers who bivouacked in his front yard near Camp Robinson. Ray became a Boy Scout, Troop 35, and earned his Eagle Scout in 1955. As a teen, Ray was in Art Club and became a lifelong Amateur Radio Operator, call sign K5HAM.

With a keen interest in electronics and communications and an eagerness to serve his country, Ray joined the Arkansas National Guard in 1956, 212th Signal Battalion. In 1957, he had to leave his own high school when he was federalized into the United States Army during the crisis at Central High School. In 1958, Ray graduated on time from North Little Rock High School with friends he had known most of his life.

Ray married Marian Yingling in 1965, and had two children, Margaret and Ray, Jr. He served as District Executive for the Boy Scouts of America, Quapaw Area Council, and graduated from Harding University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1969. Ray taught school in McRae, Arkansas, then worked in Urban Renewal in Newport, Arkansas, during two major “100 year floods” of the White River.

For most of his family years, Ray raised his children in North Little Rock, Arkansas. During the national energy crisis, Ray worked at the Arkansas Energy Office. He also became active in politics. He fought injustices and was instrumental in changing laws so that children weren’t severed from either parent after divorce. He was a founding member and President of Arkansas Fathers for Justice.

Ray served his country over 30 years in the Arkansas Army National Guard. He was the State Headquarters Detachment Commander at Camp Robinson and a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College, which is the graduate school of the U.S. Army at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. Prior to that, he was a graduate of the Arkansas Military Academy. In 1986, Ray joined the Army Reserve and taught courses for the Army Signal Corps for several years before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Ray returned to teaching and earned his Master of Science in Education Degree in 1990, and his Education Specialist Degree in 1994, both at the University of Central Arkansas, Conway. He directed an Arkansas Career and Technical Education program in North Little Rock while teaching for Shorter College for 9 years. After retiring from education in 2007, Ray enjoyed traveling to be with his kids and grandkids. He also traveled to pursue interests in music, history, and amateur radio.

Ray loved guitars and radios, but most of all, he loved family, friends, and church. While raising his children, Ray attended Sixth and Izard Church of Christ (now Windsong Church of Christ) and remained a faithful member there for over 40 years. He also participated in weekly bible studies at Levy Church of Christ.
We will remember Ray’s wisdom, knowledge, and compassion. He was a gentleman of integrity and perseverance, and had a special way of quietly helping others and often strangers. We will miss Ray’s witty humor, songwriting, and storytelling, and the times he laughed so hard that he turned bright red. Ray was a devoted father and a fantastically fun grandfather, with a genuine heart for God and God’s word. Ray often told his kids and grandkids, “I’m not sad to go to heaven. That’ll be a great day for me. You know I’ll always love you. I’ll miss you and I’ll see you when you get there.” He would smile and add, “But you don’t have to rush.”

Ray F. Medlock, Sr. is survived by his son, Ray F. Medlock, Jr. (and Laura) of Lenexa, Kansas, and by his daughter Margaret Leigh Medlock Guthrie (and Bryan) of Olathe, Kansas, and by grandchildren Lauren Medlock, Matthew Medlock, Jonathan Medlock, Ethan Guthrie, and Ella Guthrie. He was preceded in death by his parents Rayburn F. Medlock and Hilda W. Rasnick Medlock, and brother Ken W. Medlock.

Services will be held at Griffin Leggett Rest Hills on Tuesday August 25, 2020 at 10:00 AM. Seating is limited due to Covid. Services will also be livestreamed from the funeral home website. https://www.dignitymemorial.com/en-ca/obituaries/north-little-rock-ar/ray-medlock-9288458