"The hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life." - John 5:28,29
Raymond was the middle child of 5, two brothers and two sisters. He grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He loved telling stories. He would tell his sons how he and his brothers would play jokes on others and even on each other, the crazy things he did riding his motorcycle, and many football stories. Raymond's love of football started when he was in high school. His high school football talent led him to a football scholarship at The University of New Mexico- the LOBO's. Many people didn't know that he tried out for the Dallas Cowboys, hence his favorite team. He was an avid Cowboys Fan and watched them play all of the time. After his college career, he joined the Army. After getting out of the Army, he joined the Albuquerque, NM Police Department as a Motorcycle Policeman. He eventually moved back to his hometown of Roanoke, Virginia where he married Katherine Marie Holt. As Raymond began his career in the construction industry, he moved around. In 1968, he ended up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Not only was he building high rises, but also worked during the winter months parking cars at the football stadium. He loved football. In 1969, he welcomed his first son- Raymond Gene Paxton, Jr.- known to us all as "RJ". A year later, his work took him to Houston, Texas where his second son- Darren Dwayne Paxton was born who he nicknamed "little fella", a name that Darren cherished. Shortly thereafter, the family moved back to Roanoke, Virginia where his family lived. When his sons started playing sports in school, Raymond volunteered to be their assistant basketball coach and made sure he was around to take them to their baseball games. Since he owned a gas station, at around age 8 and 9, he taught his sons how to work the cash register, exchange money, how to change oil on vehicles, change tires and operate the tire machine. This proved valuable as they grew up. He taught them many aspects of the building trade. In 1982, he moved the family to Charles Town, West Virginia. At age 12, working with his dad on building their new house in Charles Town, Darren finished working and waited for his dad in the car. Raymond came out, jumped into the passenger side and said "let's go little fella". Darren said, "me, drive?" He showed his son what to do and well after about 5 tries, the car was moving, Darren was shifting gears, and the rest is history.
The family had many adventures-camping, Disney World, selling items at flea markets, spending time on the lake boating and water skiing, taking his sons to work building residential homes and townhomes. Raymond taught his sons how to build houses, read blueprints, operate heavy equipment, and so much more. Along with knowing how to build houses, RJ learned the masonry trade of laying brick and block, and Darren learned both HVAC and Electrical. All of this training proved valuable as his sons grew into adulthood.
In 1975, Raymond was baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. He loved sharing his faith with others. He shared the hope of living forever on a paradise earth under God's Kingdom with those he spoke to including his doctors, hospital staff, and others he met, right up to his death. As one of Jehovah's Witnesses, he volunteered his time and skills to assist in building places of worship-Kingdom Halls. He had the privilege of repairing a Kingdom Hall and various homes after hurricane Gilbert hit Jamaica in 1988. What a joy it was for his son to work with Raymond on this assignment.
When NBS, the manufacturing company he worked for was sold, he pursued other work. Eventually he hung up his "gold colored" hard hat and began driving school buses for Jefferson County. This made him happy. He loved driving the kids around and developed a good relationship with them. He knew them by name and offered advice to them whether they asked for it or not. Everyone wanted to ride with "Mr. Raymond". His love of driving school buses led to his driving for a charter bus company. Eventually, he purchased his own charter bus-PAXTON TOURS. He had some good adventures with his tours to NY, NJ, Nascar Races, Baseball, and Football games.
Eventually, due to his health and poor eyesight, he retired from driving, but not from mowing grass for the neighbors. RJ would often ask, "Dad, how did the yards turn out". He always said "they look good". RJ would laugh knowing Raymond's sight wasn't very good. Raymond enjoyed being outside and working. He was loved by all. He could borrow anything from the neighbors without asking because they knew Raymond would take care of it and would help them at any time. In recent years, Raymond's health deteriorated. The weekly errands and grocery trips turned into every few days with doctor appointments along the way. The family is thankful to John Elliott and others in Charles Town and Martinsburg who drove Raymond to his Christian meetings and in the ministry. After moving to Martinsburg, Barb Miller, his personal ride share driver, took him to his doctor's appointments. After his appointments, he made sure they would stop for lunch. Barb always took the scenic route back home for Raymond. During his final years, RJ was his caregiver. He did everything from cleaning his apartment, grocery shopping, prescriptions, buying him clothes, checking in on him, getting him whatever he needed, to taking care of his medical and financial needs. The family is so grateful for all RJ did for his dad.
Everyone loved Raymond. If you would mention his name, the first thing people would say was, "We love Raymond!". He was that type of person. He made people laugh and they enjoyed being around him.
He will be missed. We look forward to seeing him again very soon. (Rev. 21:3,4).
