Don Ray of Channing, Texas, died September 27, 2006, at the age of 69. Funeral services were held Saturday, September 30 at the Cal Farleys Boys Ranch Chapel at 2:00 p.m. Burial followed in the Channing Cemetery.Don, a native of the Texas Panhandle was born April 7, 1937, at the Adair Hospital in Clarendon, Texas, to Oma and Rhondy Ray, and lived on a cattle ranch near Clarendon until 1953. He graduated from Canyon High School in 1955, and from West Texas State University with a B.S. degree and Master of Education in Art. He served as a graduate assistant in the Art Department at WTSU, worked for the American Quarter Horse Journal, and was the first graphic arts director for the regional education service center in Amarillo. He served in the United States Army from 1961 to 1963. He became a full-time professional artist in 1972, and produced a quantity of paintings and sculpture, much of which reflect the landscapes of Texas and New Mexico as well as authenticity of a by-gone era in ranching and Southern and Western historical subjects. Don is survived by his wife of nearly 27 years, Janie, daughters Rhona Baucum and Bob of McKinney, Kellye Reil and Scott of Westminster, Colorado, Lori Vincent and Scott of Channing, and Katherine Koontz and Kory of Sudan, son Jack Loudder and Joni of Frisco. Also by his beloved eight grandchildren Maddie Baucum, Jae, Harlee and Ashlee Koontz, Jacob and Ethan Vincent, and Molli and Calli Loudder, sister Margaret Elley and Clint of Hutto, and mother-and-father-in-law Annie May and Erwin Meyer of Canyon, as well as so many other family members and friends who mourn the passing of this gifted, gentle loving man who helped us see the beauty and history of the Texas Panhandle through his legacy of paintings and sculpture.Memorials can be made to the Channing Cemetery Fund - P.O. Box 34 - Channing, TX 79018Haley Memorial Library & History Center - 1805 W. Indiana - Midland, TX 79701National Ranching Heritage Center - Box 43201 - Lubbock, TX 79409-3201www.ttu.edu/ranchingheritagecenter.comPanhandle Plains Historical Museum - WTAMU - Box 60967 Canyon, TX 79016 - www.panhandleplains.org