Lesby (Daniel) Ray

Lesby Ray of Hillsboro, Texas, died Saturday, February 11, 2023, at the age of eighty-nine. Graveside services will be held at 1:00pm, Monday, February 20, 2023, at Restland Memorial Park, Dallas, Texas, with Father Michael Heidt officiating.

She was born September 5, 1933, in Texarkana, Arkansas, to Minnie Romine Daniel and Doyle Phillip Daniel. Lesby saw the world as a stage. After being voted “Most Beautiful” and flawlessly executing her twirling routines under the Friday night lights at Texas High, Lesby conquered East Texas State University. Along with receiving her degree, she was a majorette, homecoming queen, a member of the student senate, Gamma Phi Beta, and Beta Sigma Phi.

Her love of dance and a degree in education swept her across the Arkansas border into Texas, where she both taught in the classroom and directed drill teams. She adored working with the C.E. King Pantherettes (Houston), the Flaming Flashes (Greenville), and the Blue Blazes (Sulphur Springs). After marrying Mr. EJ Ray, Jr. and moving to Hillsboro, she concluded her education career at Penelope ISD, where she served as the principal. Leaving the classroom, she refocused all her energy on dance and soon formed a drill team at the local junior college. If you know a Hill County Dixie Doll, you have Lesby Ray to thank.

Fully believing that every girl deserved to wear something beautiful when they performed, Lesby added “costume designer” to her long list of accomplishments in 1974. For the next fifty years, she would thrive as the owner of Custom Design, hand-crafting hundreds of one-of-a-kind pieces. There was no need to sew a label inside the costume. A Custom Design original could be spotted from a mile away.

Ask anyone in the business, and they will tell you that Lesby Ray was a pioneer in the world of drill team. She organized summer camps, contests, and was an advisor to the Arkansas Drill Team Association, as well as the Texas Dance Educator Association. She was a cherished mentor to countless directors and fiercely loyal to anyone and everyone who needed a pep talk, choreography, a quick lesson in proper manners, or an absolutely gorgeous uniform. Young dancers were drawn to her effervescent personality. Directors keenly listened when she spoke. She could hold an auditorium full of dancers captive by insisting that they repeat the following: “I’m a doll. A living doll. And I know it.”

Lesby gathered her dolls and once again proved to the world that she was not confined by boundaries. She started Dancing USA, a drill team made of dancers across the nation, who first performed in glittering red, white, and blue patriotic uniforms at the inauguration of George H. W. Bush in Washington, D.C.

Lesby’s day job may have been to make things bright, sparkly, and beautiful, but a bigger part of her world was pointing people to Jesus and serving at St. Mary’s Anglican Church where she was a faithful member. A prayer warrior at the core of her being, Lesby notoriously spoke truth, readily relied on the Holy Spirit, and wholeheartedly depended on the Lord for every aspect of her life.

Lesby is preceded in death by her father, mother, brothers Stuart Russell Daniel and Doyle Curtis Daniel, step-son Johnny Ray, and Steve Wilson. Along with her beloved sister Patricia Daniel Clark, survivors include her step-daughter Shelia Wilson (her children Stephanie and Scott Johnson and Johnny Wilson), step-daughter Sharon and her husband Larry Powell (their children Tammie and Jeff Powell and Shelby and Rick Cook), daughter-in-law Linea Ray (her children Jamie and Gary Eisenhuth and Lincee Ray), along with countless nieces, nephews, cousins, great-grandchildren, and friends.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Lesby Ray’s memory to the Texas Dance Educator Association (www.tdea.org) or St. Mary’s Anglican Church, PO Box 1634, Hillsboro, Texas 76645.