Ray Loyd Johnson

Ray Loyd Johnson passed away peacefully at his residence at the Mount Vernon House in Mount Vernon, Texas on Sunday, December 29, 2024. He was born in Winfield, Texas on March 23, 1938, to Jesse Marvin “Pete” and Gertrude King Johnson, both whom preceded him in death.

Ray’s family moved from Winfield to Mount Vernon when he was three years old. 

Ray Loyd started school at Mount Vernon Elementary in 1944 in Ms. Beth Cargile’s first grade classroom in the two-story grade school on Kaufman Street. He graduated from Mount Vernon High School as a member of the Class of 1956, in which he took the greatest pride. He could often be seen proudly wearing his “Mount Vernon Tigers Class of ‘56” t-shirt and purple MV cap.

After graduation from MVHS, Ray Loyd attended East Texas State University in Commerce, where he received both his Bachelor’s Degree (1960) and Master’s Degree (1963) in Business Administration. After college graduation, Ray Loyd moved to Dallas where he worked for Southern Union Gas Company and then Dallas Federal Savings & Loan, later known as Bright Banc, as Vice President of Personnel until his retirement. In 2018, Ray Loyd returned to his roots in Mount Vernon and resided at The Mount Vernon House.

Anyone who knows Ray Loyd can tell you that his best asset was his great memory. Ray Loyd had an incredibly vivid recall of his early years in Mount Vernon, remembering things that happened when he was 5 or 10 years old just as clearly as what happened last week. Those that were ever a recipient of one of his famous handwritten letters, understood the brilliance and heart behind Ray’s stories.

Because of his outstanding memory, Ray Loyd was a wealth of historical information about his alma mater and his hometown, and he put forth great effort to record these stories of life in Mount Vernon.

One of Ray Loyd’s favorite subjects was his Class of 1956 classmate and friend, Don Meredith, and the glory days in Mount Vernon with Coach Wayne Pierce. In 1999, he assisted Jean Pamplin in writing Memories of Don Meredith and Home Town Mount Vernon. In 2018, Ray Loyd was interviewed by Michael Meredith, the filmmaker son of Don Meredith, for a project about his famous father, and Ray Loyd proudly wore his Class of ‘56 shirt and MV cap for the filming.

Ray Loyd also assisted local historian, B.F. Hicks in 2000, in writing A Walk-Through Mount Vernon: A History of Mount Vernon, Texas, which includes historical maps and names of every store and business in town, along with many recollections by Ray Loyd throughout the book.

Ray Loyd was also the author of Reflective Rays: Mount Vernon in the 1940s and 50s, which was published in 2003 and is “Stories by Ray Loyd Johnson with a Hometown Cast of Hundreds”. His book covers the history of the community at mid-century through Ray Loyd’s eyes.

In 2018, Ray Loyd was a featured author at “A Texas Authors Gathering” hosted by the Franklin County Historical Association. Ray Loyd was one of four living recipients at that time honored with lifetime membership in the Franklin County Historical Association.

While it is obvious that Ray Loyd has a passion for writing centered around his pride in and love for his alma mater and hometown, he credited Mount Vernon High School and Superintendent Kennard “Bill” Copeland for having a lasting impact on his personal life by being instrumental in events that brought another important activity into his life, the sports of table tennis and regular tennis.

Ray Loyd was introduced to tennis as a freshman. After high school, Ray Loyd’s dedication remained steady and led him to ETSU championships and then to Dallas where he dominated the singles division. Ray Loyd even played in the Table Tennis U.S. Open in 1974.

Before he was 50, he had won more than 100 trophies for both tennis and table tennis. On the Senior circuit after age 50, Ray Loyd won 40 medals including the State Senior Singles Table Tennis Championship four times. Even after losing his left leg in 1999, Ray Loyd won two table tennis medals in the Dallas Senior Games in 2000.

Although Ray Loyd’s career took him to Dallas for decades, he would often say that Mount Vernon is the only place he ever thought of as home. He loved to emphasize the spirit, pride and unity of this community. It surrounded him when he was growing up, just as it is alive today.

There is a quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald that describes Ray Loyd Johnson well. It is, “Don't forget who you are and where you come from". In a Letter to the Editor in the Mount Vernon Optic-Herald in 2012, Ray Loyd wrote the following:

“My reverence for Mount Vernon runs deep. If I come to a fork in life’s road with the east fork a speedway straight to heaven and the west fork a slow patch meandering through Mount Vernon in the 1950’s, I will detour to my hometown.”

Ray was also inducted into the MVISD League of Honor in 2020.

Ray Loyd will be fondly remembered for his wit, humor and unending love for his hometown of Mount Vernon. He is survived by those he referred to as his “Pals and Chums”.

Visitation for Ray will be on Thursday, January 2, 2025, at Sam B. Harvey Funeral Home from 5:00-7:00 p.m. The Funeral Service will be on Friday, January 3, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at Sam B. Harvey Funeral Home with Ken Greer leading the service. Pallbearers will be Billy Jordan, BF Hicks, Jerald Mowery, Jack Jordan, Zack Fuquay, and Andy Brashear. 

In lieu of flowers, Ray would be honored if donations were made to Franklin County Historical Association or Franklin County Genealogy Society (P.O. Box 1563 - Mount Vernon, TX 75457) or to the Franklin County Historical Association (P.O. Box 289 - Mount Vernon, TX 75457) in his memory.

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