Joseph Raymond “Ray” Schiflett, IV of Wimberley and Driftwood, Texas, was born on June 10, 1989 and passed away on October 22, 2021, but what a life! Although only 32 years old when he passed from this mortal coil, he had done more in his short and wonderful life than most people do in 75 years.
He had visited all 50 states and 10 countries. He was in the top 10% of his 2007 San Marcos HS class and had an IQ of 152. He attended The University of Texas at Austin but decided after one semester that he was very opposed to the views of many of his university contemporaries who constantly expressed disdain for the USA, so he disenrolled to serve his country by enlisting in the US Navy. He served four years and became BU (Seabees) Petty Officer Third Class (SCW) based in Gulfport, MS. He was the Top of his Class at the Expeditionary Combat School, a Firearms Range Master, a Marine Corps Martial Arts Program Instructor, a certified Combat Life Saver, an IED Identification Specialist and EOD Training, a U.N. Personnel Search Expert, a Combat Fire Team Leader, a Radio Communications Certified Operator and a Company Fitness Leader, among other positions. He served overseas, primarily in Liberia for over 2 years. He was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal, the Seabee Combat Warfare Pin, the Battle Efficiency Battalion Medal, the Expert M9 and M16 Marksmanship Medals, the Global War on Terrorism Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal. Many people would not be alive today if Ray had not entered the US Navy; he saved many American and African lives. He was a hero.
He noted that he could speak three languages- English, Spanish, and Texan. He was invited to try out for the US Olympic pistol team. He placed in the top 5 of all contestants at several state-wide shooting contests even though he used only a store bought Kimber 45 ACP whereas most others had $5,000+ “raceguns.” He flew into the eye of Hurricane Harvey as a news photographer with his dad in August, 2017 aboard the Hurricane Hunter C-3 Orion plane “Kermit” based out of Lakeland, Florida. His photos were used in most of the local papers and presented nationally. Earlier he had driven into the eye of Hurricane Claudia with his dad in 2003 at Port Lavaca.
His greatest accomplishment was marrying Teresa Sherie Schiflett on June 5, 2020 and getting to be an exceptional stepdad to her fine 7 year old son Jeremy. Although they could only be married 16 months before he left us, this was the happiest phase of his life. Thank you, Teresa! He deeply loved his mom Peggy Schiflett, his dad Raymond Schiflett, III, and his sister, Shayna Schiflett as well as his paternal grandmother Mary Schiflett (decd. 2007), his great grandmother “GG” (Mary Cavender) (decd., 2001), and his maternal grandparents Evelyn and John H. Kucera, Jr. (decd. 1995 & 1996).
His favorite movies were The Great Race and It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. His favorite music was 60s, 70s, and 80s rock, and country. His favorite rock band was Foreigner. Ray loved the opera Carmen, Joaquin Rodrigo’s Spanish symphonies, and George Gershwin. He was terrible at playing the piano, half-bad at trumpet and guitar, but sang karaoke well with a deep baritone. He liked construction but hated ladders. He loved golden retrievers and his German Shepherd “Patton,” who is an exceptional service dog and cared for him deeply. He did not like cats, as Ray preferred pets who would actually help with chores and obey commands. He kept a wary eye on the 3 foot tall Japanese samurai puppet in his grandmother’s house after his sister scared him with it. He loved Bullitt Mustangs and Corvettes- especially the C7s.
He was an “old soul” who treasured self-responsibility, honesty, and loyalty. His body was broken by his military service to the USA, but he never regretted it, calling it, “a great adventure” from which he emerged with life-long friends with tight bonds. He disdained the VA for not providing better care to his military comrades and using bureaucracy to slow down and stop aid from reaching those who needed it most. He saved a woman in New Braunfels from being badly beaten by her “boyfriend,” he stopped a robbery, prevented a carjacking, and he saved a young lady in Dallas from being raped. He was a local hero, also.
He loved baseball, especially the Houston Astros, and disliked the Red Sox. He was born during the UT baseball College World Series final in 1989 and passed away minutes after the Astros defeated the Red Sox for the AL title in 2021 (yes, he was aware and hung on until they had secured the last out). He loved pro football, especially the Denver Broncos, and hated the New England Patriots. He loved UT football and baseball and fully believed that OU s****. He was at the Rose Bowl victory over Michigan in 2005 and was delirious with joy when they beat USC the following year. He always appreciated UT coach Mack Brown for telephoning him when he was about to leave for an overseas deployment, telling Ray that what he was doing in the Navy was far more important than what anyone on the football field was accomplishing.
Ray loved Ducati motorcycles and reached a speed of 183 mph once. He was officially banished from Pass Christian, MS for doing this. He founded The Drifters MC while he was in the military. He was the mascot (a purple rattler) for San Marcos HS in his senior year. He liked getting dressed up as a T Rex dinosaur and “invading” the Mercer Street dance floor (nothing like seeing a pre-historic 2 step). He actually cared about his dad’s golf scores and hiked a portion of the 500 mile Colorado Trail with him. He was an acolyte at St. Stephen’s
Episcopal church for 8 years.
He rode 100 km in the Hotter ‘n Hell bike race in Wichita Falls, Texas, at age 13. He was a professional magician from age 11 to 17, placed second in a statewide competition, and did pro-bono performances for several local charities. His specialty was being a Houdini-style escape artist. He went to all the World Series the Astros have been in: 2005, 2017 and 2019. He loved baseball memorabilia--especially Astros items. He once drove 7 hours with his dad to get Jeff Bagwell’s autograph. He attended an Indy 500 race in 2009. He had a gifted sense of humor and lit the lamp on a lot of faces.
He always wanted to own a full-size grappling hook (for no apparent reason) and got one for Christmas in 2018…couldn’t stop laughing. He never took illegal drugs, but he was a wine and beer aficionado. He hated cooking until he found out in the military that he was great at it; then he loved it. He was a master chef, once placing third in the San Marcos steak cook-off using only a patio $79 round black kettle. He enjoyed long distance swimming and once swam two miles into the channel between Maui and Molokai, Hawaii, before seeing a shark, and then quietly paddled back to shore. He really enjoyed the Utah Shakespearean Festival and participated in their acting classes in 2006.
He was a kind, respectful gentleman and always treated women with respect. He was short at 5’ 7” but lived tall. He had a heart as big as Texas. Ray often said that he was born a Texan and wanted to die and be buried nowhere else. Accordingly, he will be buried at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Cemetery in Wimberley, and the celebration of his great life will begin at 11 AM on Thursday, October 28, 2021 in the St. Stephen’s chapel. Donations would be appreciated to help his bride in offsetting his medical and funeral expenses, which are overwhelming. Please consider sending your contribution to RBFCU in either San Marcos or Dripping Springs, checking account #219815341, Routing #314089681 made out to Ms. Teresa Schiflett.
“Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” (Shakespeare’s Hamlet)
“A gathering of angels
Appeared above my head
They sang to me this song of hope
And this is what they said.
They said, ‘come sail away, come sail away
Come sail away with me (lads)’” (Styx, 1977)
