Benjamin Raye Collier

Benjamin Raye Collier, 89, of Dallas, Texas, passed away peacefully on July 24, 2019 in Dallas. A Graveside Service will be held on Friday, August 2, 11:00 am at West End Cemetery in Stephenville, Texas. Dr. Mark Forrest of Lakeside Baptist Church of Granbury will officiate. A memorial celebrating Raye's life will follow at 5:00 to 7:00 pm at Dallas Country Club in the Founder's Room. Arrangements for the service and memorial will be made by Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home of Dallas. Raye was born on August 23, 1929 in Homer, Louisiana to Benjamin Carl and Byron Nelson Collier. He was raised in Shreveport, Louisiana where he graduated from Byrd High School in 1946. He then went to the mountains of Tennessee and attended the University of the South (Sewanee) where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1950. At Sewanee, he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity and lettered in football. Sewanee was followed by a brief adventure at the University of California Hastings School of Law in San Francisco. "For a country boy who had never travelled out of the south, that was quite an experience,"he said, describing his time in San Francisco. Raye was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1951 during the Korean War and was stationed in Nuremberg, Germany as an Information & Education Specialist. He served in the Army until 1953. In the fall of 1953, he started law school at Southern Methodist University (SMU), graduating in 1956 with an LLB/JD degree. He was also a member of the law fraternity Delta Theta Phi. His law career started in 1957 as an Assistant District Attorney in Dallas. He was employed by Superior Insurance Company from 1959 to 1960. He then went into private practice for almost 30 years until 1990 with the firm that eventually became Stigall, Maxfield, and Collier. He continued to practice independently through the 1990's and into the 2000's before retiring in 2006. Raye married Anne Louise Blair of Dallas in 1958. They raised two children together - Forrest Blair Collier and Elizabeth Blair Collier. In 1999, he married Lana Wells from Granbury, Texas in Natchez, Mississippi. Raye and Lana traveled extensively, enjoyed golf and horseracing in Ruidoso, New Mexico, and attended many Texas A&M football games. Raye was a sports enthusiast who loved playing golf, watching a good football game, and carrying on with his buddies. He was an active member of the Salesmanship Club of Dallas and volunteered to work at the Byron Nelson Golf Tournament for many years. He also loved to spend time with Forrest and Blair and they enjoyed many memorable trips to the mountains, Europe, Las Vegas, and other fun places. He will be remembered as a fine lawyer with a kind soul and an easygoing, fun -loving nature. Raye is preceded in death by his parents, wife Lana Wells Collier, sister Carla Collier Johnson, and granddaughter Kirby Claire Collier. He is survived by two children, Forrest Collier and wife, Kim, and Blair Lechtenberger and husband, Kirk; three grandchildren, Ashley Collier Farmar and husband, Logan, and Olivia and Wes Lechtenberger; and first wife Anne Collier. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Raye's memory to the Salesmanship Club of Dallas, 106 E. 10th Street, Suite 200, Dallas, TX 75203 or a charity of choice. The family would like to thank the wonderful people at the Tradition Lovers Lane for the love and care they had for Raye from the time he moved there to the very end. We would also like to thank Home Helpers of Dallas and Allstar Hospice for their compassion in caring for Raye in his final days.