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FROM THE BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF PRIMITIVE OR OLD SCHOOL BAPTIST MINISTERS BY DAVID MONTGOMERY AND MARK GREEN:
ELDER RAY SAMUEL PILES
SUBMITTED BY HIS GRANDDAUGHTER, DAWN CAMP:
Ray Samuel Piles was born on May 17, 1912, in Hon, Arkansas, to parents Robert Lee and Eula Ann Hullender Piles. Elder R. L. Piles was his uncle. Ray married Wilma Letha Caudle on November 28, 1940, and had two daughters, Linda Sue(Godwin) and Judith Ann (Jacobs).
In 1953, Ray was ordained to the ministry at Little Flock Church near Mansfield, Arkansas. During his 38 years as a minister, Elder Piles pastored various Arkansas churches: Little Flock in Mansfield, Fellowship in Waldron, Little Flock in Rogers, Friendship in Scranton, Fort Smith Primitive Baptist Church, which he helped constitute, and Pilgrims’ Rest in Arkoma, Oklahoma. Elder Piles served as moderator of the Salem Association for many years.
Ray Piles was a successful businessman. He opened his first piano company in Waldron, Arkansas, and later co-owned Piles Brothers Piano Co. in Fort Smith with his brother, Archie. After briefly retiring, Ray and his son-in-law, Bill Jacobs, opened Piles Piano Co. in 1973, which they operated until 1988.
Elder Piles had a keen sense of humor and was greatly loved by his family and church. He died on February 27, 1991, and his nephews, Elders Sonny and David Pyles, conducted his funeral. He was buried in Mansfield, Arkansas. |
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