of Proctor, AR

August 20, 1951 - March 7, 2025

Ray Mills Abel, 73, of Proctor, AR passed away March 7th, 2025 at St. Francis Hospital in Bartlett, TN following a stroke and heart attack.

Ray was preceded by his father, J.R. Abel of Lexington, MS.

Ray is survived by his wife, Cheryl; 2 daughters, Renee (Manny) Salinas and Stephanie Hart of Texas; 1 son, Ray Abel Jr. (Bubba) of TX; 1 stepson, Jake Houchen of Proctor; many grandchildren and great grandchildren and step sister, Lisa Dawn of TX.

Ray served 20 years in the Army, attaining the rank of Sergeant First Class. He completed duties in Texas and Germany before retiring at Ft Devens, MA.

Ray was extremely proud of his last duty assignment. He ran the processing center at Ft Devens, processing units in to and out of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. It was during the in-processing of a unit to Desert Shield that he met his future wife of over 27 years, Cheryl.

After his Army retirement, Ray went into the Army surplus business in MA, then relocating the business south following Cheryl's military career. He opened Camouflage Connection in West Memphis, AR in 1995 then moving to Sunset, AR in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the building in West Memphis. He conducted business in Sunset as Patriot Military Surplus until 2019 when the store was closed for the COVID Pandemic. He had high hopes of reopening his store but health problems kept the doors shuttered.

Ray will be remembered for his love of Country and support of Veterans and Veterans organizations. He was loud, boisterous and larger than life. People met Ray once and never forgot him. Many friends fondly teased him by calling him '' Crazy Ray'' which he tried to live up to. He loved his family, his favorite rottweiler Sabrina, Harley Motorcycles and Dodge trucks. He will be greatly missed.

There will be a come and go visitation and celebration of Rays life on Friday, March 28, 2025 from 3PM to 5PM at Roller Citizens Funeral Home in West Memphis, AR. Later in the summer, his ashes will be scattered on family land in Mississippi where he grew up.

The family requests no flowers be sent to the visitation and invite all family and friends to drop by to remember Ray, his life and his legacy.

Your fight is over Ray, Rest In peace.

Obituary Provided By:
Roller-Citizens Funeral Home
201 North Pine Street
West Memphis, AR  72303
www.rollerfuneralhomes.com