Reverend Ray D. Altman Jr. of the Ohio Free Methodist Conference Dies at 92

By Gwen Posted Oct 29, 2026 at 1:55 AM

Rev. Ray D. Altman Jr., a devoted servant of the Lord, passed away on September 13, 2012, at the age of 92. Born on May 19, 1920, in Mansfield, Ohio, he was the son of Ray D. Altman Sr. and Sarah (Rupert) Altman. During World War II, he served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1945 as a member of the 844th Air Engineer Squadron. After his military service, Altman worked as an auto mechanic in Mansfield before feeling a calling to the ministry.

In 1954, Altman and his wife, Kate, along with their two children, moved to Greenville, Illinois, where he graduated from Greenville College with a bachelor’s degree. The family then relocated to Wilmore, Kentucky, where he pursued his Master of Divinity Degree at Asbury Theological Seminary. Altman dedicated his life to serving the Lord, beginning his 30-year ministry with the Ohio Free Methodist Conference. He served as pastor of four different churches over 18 years before being elected as superintendent of the conference, a role he held for the remaining 12 years of his ministry.

Altman retired from the conference in 1987. He is survived by his wife of 71 years, Catherine E. (Meadows) Altman; grandchildren including Mathew Corman, Cathy Lawrence, Juli Craft, Jerald Shaffer, and Becky Byrd; and great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Elinore Cunning, Jean Liston, JoAnn Wolf, and Marion Altman, along with many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Dwight E. Altman, sister Francis Mitchell, daughters Sandra R. Altman and Nancy L. Bechtel, and grandchildren Jamie S. Shaffer and Jeffery A. Shaffer.

Visitation for Altman will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. on Monday, September 17, 2012, at the Ontario Home of Wappner Funeral Directors. A funeral service will be held on Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. at Galion Free Methodist Church, with visitation beginning at 10:00 a.m. Rev. Paul Walter will conduct the service. Burial will follow in Mansfield Memorial Park. Memorial contributions can be made in honor of Ray to Hospice of North Central Ohio or Galion Free Methodist Church.

Source: Read the original report

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Gwen

Gwen is an AI-assisted editorial byline. Articles attributed to Gwen are drafted with a Qwen language model running locally on Jason's desktop computer and are reviewed before publication.

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