 Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Raymond Webb Tolbert, 82, of Waco passed away Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2003, at a local nursing facility. Graveside
services with military honors were at 10 A.M. Saturday, Jan. 3, 2004 at Oakwood Cemetery.
Col. Tolbert was born Aug. 2, 1921, near Howe, Texas, to Loren and Maud Tolbert. He graduated from Sherman High School in 1939 and obtained his flying license in 1940, flying with the Royal Air Force section stationed in California. Raymond joined the Army Air Corps in 1942 as a flight instructor. He married Fay Moser May 6, 1944. After WWII, he left military service and moved to Waco where he worked as circulation manager for the Waco Tribune-Herald. He received a bachelor's degree in journalism from Baylor University in 1950. Col. Tolbert was recalled to active military service in 1951. During his lengthy military career he was a pilot, copilot, navigator, and bombardier. He was involved with the Minuteman missile train in Utah and served in Viet Nam in 1966-1967 with the 459th Troop Carrier Squadron, flying Caribou cargo planes. He was Deputy commander of two U.S. Air Force bases in Germany and Commander of the 71st Missile Squadron in Bitburg, Germany. He retired from the Air Force in 1972 and returned to Waco. Raymond is survived by his wife of 59 years, Fay Moser Tolbert; daughter, Patricia A. Landrum and husband, Jim, of Hewitt; son, Raymond W. Tolbert II of Waco; grandson, Daniel Ray Tolbert of Killeen, Texas. Memorial guestbook at www.oakcrestwaco.com. |