Rev. Charles Ray Veal Obituary (1950 - 2020)

Charles Ray Veal was born in Pineville, Louisiana to Sarah Scott Rainey and Clifton Veal, Sr. on September 21, 1950. He was the eldest of ten brothers and sisters by his mother and the second oldest of six children by his father. Reverend Charles Ray Veal departed this life on Tuesday, December 29, 2020. Charles was baptized at an early age at Second Nazarene Baptist Church in Alexandria, Louisiana and raised by his great grandmother Susan Coleman Gilmore aka Mama Susie. Of all the roles and jobs Charles took on throughout his life, he was a genuinely steadfast, committed, and joyful servant of God and follower of Jesus Christ. Although he had been married three times prior to their meeting, Charles found and later married the love of his life, Marjorie King Veal on March 6, 1994 and they set about building a life and ministry together until his death. Charles attended Peabody Magnet High the majority of his high school career and was recognized as part of the Class of 1968. However, he finished his last credit at St. James High School in Alexandria, Louisiana and officially graduated May 14, 1969. From a line of relatives that served our country through WWI, WWII, Korean Wars, etc. Charles decided to serve in the Air Force until his honorable discharge in 1972. Following his service in the Air Force, Charles took on various occupations throughout his life that included postal carrier, cook/ chef, as well as city and school bus driver. However, he found no greater calling than that of Christian ministry where he sought to feed people - mind, body, heart and soul. Charles was ordained through the Beulah Baptist Church in 1983 in Lecompte, Louisiana. Over a decade later, he would become integral to the rebirth of the Donahue Third Street Mission in 1998 that would then become a constituted church in 2004 as the New Christian Life Fellowship Baptist Church. Charles also served as Treasurer of the Louisiana Southern Baptist African American Fellowship from it's inception for over a decade. Charles was also sworn in as an Alderman of Boyce, Louisiana on December 29, 2018 and took office January 1, 2019. Charles believed in Christian scholarship and completed many programs in theology and evangelism. He received his Diploma in Pastoral Ministry on October 19, 2003 through the Seminaries of the Southern Baptist Convention. Because of this daily dedication, Charles also built an extensive personal library of thousands of books he read, hundreds he then gave away, and used to both minister to and mentor others. Besides his passion for feeding minds including his own, Charles was also passionate about nourishing bodies so they could also pursue God's work. This meant building a food pantry and distributing food throughout the community. Charles took just as much, if not more, joy in wearing his signature overalls when it was time to get to work and distribute food as he did wearing his robe in the pulpit. The food pantry has been in operation for over 15 years where he and other church members managed distributions once a month and more often than that during the pandemic. He was also responsible for starting a monthly food distribution for the town of Boyce since September 2020. Charles believed his purpose was to tell everyone about God's grace, to inspire and call on them to put God first and simply to always be a servant and better people's life in any possible way that he could. His faith and God's grace allowed him to flourish even as a three-time skin and colon cancer survivor and disabled veteran. Time and again, he humbly and cheerfully declared, "I'm here to serve God. I'm here to serve the people." Charles was preceded in death by his parents; his brothers, Gregory Louis Scott Sr. and Donald Scott; and his son, Timothy Roberts. Charles leaves his legacy and cherished memories to his wife of 26 years, Marjorie King Veal, children:daughters Kesha Fuller (Jason) of Princeton, TX, Lisa Berry of Katy, TX, LaDasha Roberts of Alexandria, LA, Tenisha Samuel (Toss) of Alexandria, LA, Astria Williams (Xavier) of Boyce, LA and sons Derrick Veal (Shatonya) of Carrolton, TX, and Sheddrick King of Boyce, LA. He also leaves 21 grandchildren Jordan Fuller, Mikal Fuller, Kayla Fuller, Zhara Berry, Nyah Berry, Aston Ducote, Sebastian Ducote, Jasmine Roberts, Tito Wilson Jr., Kay'den Wilson, Dijai Veal, Haley Veal, Shakya Sanders, Tamera Bradford, Shariah Gaston, Ayden Gaston, Da'Sedric King, Ka'Den King, Ri'Mya Miles, A'Nya Miles and Alonah George. Last but not least, he leaves one great grandson, Amir Taylor. Further he leaves his 7 brothers Regas Scott Sr. (Jeanette), Victor Scott (Bernita), David Rainey (Cynthia), Charles Rainey Jr, Clifton Veal Jr., Reginald Veal and Zeno Veal; 5 sisters, Patricia Jenkins (Hamilton), Brenda Flournoy (Curley Sr.), Sandra James, Shirley Veal and Gloria Veal; mother-in-law Gertrude King, sister-in-laws Karen "Lane" King, Monica Stafford (Greg), Elaine Slaughter and brother-in-laws Jessie King (Faye) and Tony King (Natasha); 2 special aunts Margaret Veal and Reatheal Veal, 3 Godchildren Kamry Harper, Jordan Johnson and Malachi Smith as well as a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, family and friends to cherish his memories and legacy. Please keep the Veal family in prayer. Miller and Hill "The Funeral Directors"