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Obituary for Richard A. Voyles

Richard Arlen Voyles, 87, died peacefully Thursday, October 5, 2017 at Providence Hospice Place. A memorial service will be 11 a.m. Thursday, October 12, at the Seventh and James Baptist Church, Waco, where he had been a member for almost 50 years. Reverend Erin Conaway will officiate.

Visitation will be Wednesday, Oct. 11 from 5-7 p.m. at OakCrest Funeral Home, 4520 Bosque Boulevard.

Richard was born February 18, 1930 in Evansville, Indiana, the son of Fern and Elmer Voyles. As a young child, he moved to Fort Worth, and graduated from Paschall High School. He attended Wayland Baptist College in Plainview. After completing the Southwestern Baptist Seminary in Fort Worth, he married Martha Baxter, the mother of his children. He enjoyed his time after the Seminary as a Baptist missionary on an Indian reservation in New Mexico.


After receiving a Masters degree in social work from Florida State University, he spent most of his career counseling veterans at the V.A. Medical Center in Waco.

Richard had a lifelong interest in learning. He enjoyed post retirement classes in archaeology, poetry and Nia. His interests in history and religion led him to the Holy Land, on an archaeologist dig, to visit five ancient wonders of the world and to see all of the oceans.

He was an active member of the Friends of Carl Jung, the Festival of Faith, and the Community Race Relations Coalition. After a long friendship, he married his supervisor at the Baylor Moody Library, Sarah Harrison, on November 25, 2006.

Richard was preceded in death by his parents; his brother, Gilbert; and his wife, Martha.
Survivors include Sarah; his children, Richard Voyles and Sharon Short and her husband, Ken; and his grandchildren, Mark, John, Rachel and Sarah.

The family would like to extend a special thanks to the loving caregivers at Providence Hospice.
Memorials may be made to Providence Hospice, 6700 Sanger Avenue Waco, Texas 76710, Seventh and James Baptist Church or the charity of your choice.

Sign the Guest Book at www.oakcrestwaco.com

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Richard A. Voyles, please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.

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