Rayburn Thomas

Rayburn was born to Sidney and Maudie Moore Thomas on April 13, 1925 in Bosque County, where he grew up hunting and fishing with his brother Elmoe on the Brazos River. He attended Walling Bend schools and others. In 1942, he met Sue Dobbs and from the start they had an eye for each other. At the age of 18 years, he was old enough for the Army. When he was home on his first furlough he asked Sue to marry him. Although neither was old enough to get the marriage license, Rayburn asked Sue's dad and his dad to go with him to Hillsboro to get the marriage license. Neither dad had the heart to say no, so Sue and Rayburn married August 14, 1944 in Whitney. On October 6, 1944 he was shipped overseas to the ETO, and around New Year's he was taken a prisoner of war by the German Army. He was a prisoner until the war with Germany was over, May 7, 1945. On December 12, 1945 he was honorably discharged from the army. In 1947 with the help of his dad, he started farming peanuts. He rented the B. P. Stewart Estate in the McCown Valley Community. The farm had not been farmed in several years, because it was deep sand. His dad and Uncle Roy told him it was good peanut land and in 1963 he bought the land with a G. I. loan. He also farmed crops, raised cattle, did custom hay bailing and coastal Bermuda sprigging. He loved to work on the farm and do repair work on his tractors and equipment, until his health would no longer allow him. He was a member of First Baptist Church in Whitney and a member of VFW Post # 8571. He was preceded in death by his father and mother and his nephew, Johnny Thomas. He is survived by his wife, Sue; four brothers, Elmoe, his wife, Joann of Whitney, Travis, his wife Nelda of Clifton, James of Covington, Jackie and Sarah of Whitney; four sisters, Ladean Hill of Whitney, Helen Wagner of Euless, Jimmie Nell Ashley of Whitney and Mary Sue Brooks and her husband, Welborn of Whitney, two sister's in law, Juanita Brown and husband David of Quinlan, Helen Shipp and husband, Raymond of San Angelo; his Uncle Roy Thomas of Whitney, his Aunt Evelina Yates of Crowley and numerous nieces, nephews and friends.