Buddy Ralph Street

Buddy Ralph Street
Buddy Ralph Street, 78, of Orange, passed away on Sunday August 12 after a long and courageous battle with Alzheimer’s.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, August 17 at First Church of the Nazarene, 3810 Martin Luther King Drive, Orange, Texas, 77632. Reverend K. Ray McDowell will officiate. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens in Orange.

Visitation is from 5 until 8 p.m., Thursday, at Claybar Funeral Home, 504 N. 5th Street in Orange. Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org .

Buddy was born in Petrolia, Texas on January 3, 1940. His father moved the family to Orange when Buddy was a young child. Buddy quickly discovered a passion for sports. He loved the game of football and played center for the Lutcher Stark High School Tigers. Many of his teammates, coaches and teachers became life-long friends and mentors. He was a proud graduate of the Stark High School Class of 1959.

After high school graduation, Buddy enlisted in the United States Army. He served in Germany from 1959-1962 and was honorably discharged as a Veteran in 1962. When he returned home from military service, he married his high-school sweetheart, Maureen Brock, and began a five-decade career as an air conditioning contractor. Buddy valued and respected his customers as if they were his family. He was sensitive to the financial burdens of his elderly clients and happily accepted home-made apple pie as full payment for a service call. His compassion and generosity often fell on strangers. Whether he was delivering a coat to a homeless man, surprising a young boy with a new bicycle, stopping to help fix a flat tire on the way to church, leaving a large tip to a hard working waitress, paying for a single mom’s groceries, feeding a stray dog or just sharing a kind word – Buddy always put others first. He believed and lived the golden rule and treated every person that crossed his path with dignity and grace. One of his favorite quotes says, “Character is defined by what you do when no one is looking.” Over the years, his wife and children would frequently meet people that shared how “Buddy Ralph” made a positive impact on their life.

Buddy was a loyal Dallas Cowboy and West Orange Stark High School football fan. He had season tickets at Mustang Stadium on the 48 yard line for over 25 years. He enjoyed western movies, the blues and country music. Some of his favorite musical artists were Gatemouth Brown, John Fogerty and Willie Nelson. His hobbies included collecting Red Ryder BB guns and Texaco airplanes and attending estate sales and sporting events.

Buddy’s permanent imprint on this earth was not measured by a successful business, loads of money in the bank or countless awards on the wall. The amazing legacy he leaves behind is rooted in an unshakable faith in his Savior, Jesus Christ and his desire to share God’s love thru his daily actions. People from all walks of life, all ages and all races were forever changed by the huge servant’s heart of Buddy Ralph Street.

He is survived by his best friend and wife of 55 years, Edith Maureen Street, and his two daughters, Kelly Coker of Orange, and Kathleen Cone and husband Ty Cone of North Richland Hills. He is preceded in death by his parents, Sam and Edith Street, and siblings W.K Street, Melvin Street, Margie McClure, Darlene Holcomb, Mildred Smith, Mary Vincent, Lois Fancher, Sam Street Jr. and Myrtice Moore.