Wilton Ray Willie Grice

A Celebration Service honoring the life of Wilton "Willie" Ray Grice, age 88 and prominent businessman for over 50 years, will be held on Saturday, September 5, 2020, at First Baptist Church in Dumas, TX at 10:00 am. Friends and family are encouraged to attend. Arrangements are entrusted to Beeson ~ Morrison Funeral Directors. Willie Ray Grice was born August 6, 1932, to Roaten and Ethel Grice in Guymon, OK. Willie was a middle child with older brother Art and younger sister Nancy, both deceased. He married Phoebe Rowena Barnum on June 1, 1952. In November 1952, he was drafted into the Army where he served for two years as a provost marshall investigator at Red Stone Arsenal, Huntsville, AL. Willie became a "Parts Man" as a teenager. He later owned his own "Parts House" named Dumas Motor Parts, which he operated for 35 years. Willie and Phoebe had four children, 12 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren. Children include Fonda, who passed away at six months, Gary, Ronda and husband Jimmy, Brad and wife Maggie. Grandchildren are Angela Smith, Greg Grice, Timothy Grice, Kimmee Garcia, Lindsay Holland, Nathan Shelburne, Adam Shelburne, Matthew Grice, Erica Scalf, Andrew Grice, Michael Grice, and Ben Mager. Willie was an outdoorsman. He enjoyed taking the children on jeep rides, teaching them snow skiing, water skiing, and camping whenever he could break away from the parts store. Motorcycles played a big part in Willies life. His children raced motorcycles with Willie as the pit crew. Before the race, he would walk the track with each kid and point out dangers along the trail. One of his favorite things was to do was ride motorcycles with his buddies. The men would take off work and go on a 1-2 week tour, always camping along the way. Willie became a pilot, starting with a Tri-Pacer Airplane. Phoebe said you could shut the door and still throw out a cat through the cracks. He was very generous to take friends places in his plane, often because of death or sickness in friends families. He loved woodworking and could build anything, often toys for the grandchildren or tables for the church. After the sale of Dumas Motor Parts in 1995, Willie became a bus driver for Dumas Schools for 15 years and was honored as the Bus Driver of the Year for DISD 2007-2008. He knew each student by name and something about each one. He bought a Ford tractor and someone was always saying "Willie I saw you going down the street on your tractor". He often said he would mow for one hour and work on the tractor for two. The grandchildren would come to Dumas Motor Parts and rollerblade down the aisles. Willie attended the First Baptist Church since 1962. He enjoyed serving on the security team, helping with baptisms, and various missions. He enjoyed helping with Meals on Wheels and working at the food pantry. Willie serves on the board of directors at the Windows on the Plains Museum in Dumas, TX. To honor Willie please send donations to St Judes Childrens Hospital or Smile Train in lieu of flowers.