Jerry Ray Deaton, of Dallas, Texas, passed away peacefully on October 5, 2026, at the age of 89. He was born July 18, 1937 in Winnsboro, Texas, the only child of Retha (Meek) and Rayford Thomas Deaton.
When Jerry was young his family moved to Dallas. He attended Forney Avenue Baptist Church and at the age of 17 he accepted his Lord Jesus Christ and was baptized there. He later also attended East Grand Baptist Church.
He attended OM Roberts Elementary School, J.L. Long Junior High and graduated from Crozier Tech High School in 1955. After graduation he started working at Western Electric.
He joined the US Army in 1957 in the Infantry and was stationed in Germany until 1959 between the Korean and Viet Nam wars.
Jerry went back to Western Electric (which later turned into AT&T) after the Army and worked there 35 years. By attending night school, he earned his BBA from SMU in 1966. He worked part-time at H&R Block for 25 years, retired, and later worked for the IRS full time for an additional 10 years.
He met Judy Moss Deaton at Western Electric and they were married November 22, 1962 in Calera, Oklahoma on Thanksgiving Day. They were happily married for 59 years until she passed away in 2021. They attended and supported First Baptist Church in Dallas for many years.
He was a 32nd Degree Mason and Hella Temple Shriner. He was also a member of the Hella Mounted Patrol for 5 years with his favorite quarter horse, Snipper.
Jerry and Judy moved to Frisco, Texas in 1998, and they loved their neighborhood and the friends they made there.
This summer, he moved to an assisted living community in Richardson, Twin Rivers, where he truly began to thrive. He came out of his social shell, made new friends and showed a side of himself that brought so much joy to those who knew him. Seeing him enjoy this new and brief chapter of his life, and make connections with so many people was such a blessing.
Jerry loved watching his children and grand-children play sports or any other activity they were involved with. His love and dedication to his family were truly indescribable. His silly handshakes, the nicknames he had for every family member, and all of those little things that were uniquely Dad are memories we will all treasure forever. He was an avid sports fan supporting the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks and Texas Rangers. He loved country music and some of his favorite artists were Willie Nelson and Charlie Pride - and we cannot forget to mention his infatuation with Dolly Parton!
His unwavering faith and love for the Lord were at the center of who he was. He was a man who believed in doing the right thing always. In fact, he could never quite understand why anyone would choose otherwise. He believed in leading by example, treating people right and staying true to what he believed. His legacy of faith, love, loyalty and family will continue to live on through all of us who were blessed to know him.
Thank you all for loving and supporting our family and most of all thank you for loving Jerry, aka Dad, aka Grandy, aka Bronc, aka Da, aka Silver Dollar.
Jerry is survived by his three children, Judy Deaton Moses (Sam), Ray Deaton (Jennifer), and Jaquita Deaton Farrow (Paul); six grandchildren, Jessica Rejkowski (Steve), Dane Robertson, Jake Deaton (Haley), Amaris Fuller (Ben), Cami Deaton and Parker Jackson; four great-grandchildren, Emerson Angela Deaton, Samuel Thomas Fuller, Harper Michelle Deaton, and Graham Benjamin Fuller; Judy’s sisters, Eula Hamilton, Elizabeth (Prissy) Buchanan and Donna Bullard; and host of nieces and nephews.
At this time the plans for a memorial service are still in progress and more information will be available soon.
