Charles Raymond Prather – Aug. 14, 1974 – Oct. 26, 2026

Charles Raymond Prather, 52, passed away on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026. Graveside Service: 3:00 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, at Mount Olivet Cemetery. Charles was born on Aug. 14, 1974, in Fort Worth, to parents Jimmy Lee Prather and Joetta Elaine Jones Croft. He spent his early adolescent years in Fort Worth before moving to Las Vegas as a teenager, where he learned to ride horses and fell in love with rodeo. Ray could be found daily riding and working with his beloved horse, Waco, and preparing for an upcoming rodeo. Team roping and bareback riding were his favorite events. Ray eventually moved back to Fort Worth, where he attended Richland High School and graduated in 1994. Not long after graduation, he met Jim Mitchell and began working for him in the moving business. Jim became one of Ray’s closest friends, and Ray was like a son to Jim. A Letter from Jim About Ray: In the early hours of Oct. 26, 2026, Charles Ray Prather was gathered into the Lord’s embrace while at his residence in Azle, Texas. At times, it is easy to forget what really matters most during this brief finger snap of time we share on Earth. Big-hearted Ray did not lose sight of “what matters.” Big Ray was the mirthful moniker for the man who stood 5’7″ flat-footed. Purpose, courage, charity unto all, love and allegiance to family and friends, music, and honor were just a few of the many values he extolled during his brief 52 years here among us. Big Ray loved rodeo. In his younger years, he was a “buckle-winning” Texas cowboy, riding saddle bronc and bareback and competing in team roping. Within the axiomatic annals of what is termed the Cowboy Code of Conduct, one value rings loud: “Ride for the Brand.” Big Ray “rode for God’s brand” all of his life. Noted author and poet Kahlil Gibran writes, “And when you part from your friend, grieve not: for that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.” May God bless the memory of Big Ray. Ray was a son, a brother, an uncle, and a friend. He will be greatly missed. He was preceded in death by his mother, Joetta Elaine Croft. Charles is survived by his father, Jimmy Lee Prather, and his wife, Brooke, of Pahrump, Nevada; sister, Deanna Simmons, and brother-in-law, Eric Simmons; nieces, McKala Simmons, Megan Rayes, Mary McKinnis, and Madelyn Simmons; nephew, John Simmons; and closest friend, Jim Mitchell. MOUNT OLIVET CHAPEL Greenwood Funeral Homes – Cremation 2301 N. Sylvania Avenue, Fort Worth 76111 817-831-0511