Raymond Henry Wilbers, M.D., of Mexico, Missouri, passed away peacefully as a consequence of congestive heart failure, on Thursday morning, July 10, 2025, surrounded by his beloved family. He was 88 years old.

Ray was born February 21, 1937, in Westphalia, Missouri, to Tony and Sophie Wilbers. He was shaped by the values of small-town life and of his hard-working parents, who ran a Texaco service station and cafe for 42 years. He often spoke with grateful nostalgia of those roots, recalling the rhythm of daily life, the lessons of service and grit, and the deep sense of community that never left him.

Ray went on to become a distinguished physician and general surgeon whose career spanned more than five decades. After two years at Lincoln University, he graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He earned his M.D. degree at the University of Missouri School of Medicine (Class of 1963) and completed his surgical residency at what was then Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. After completing a cancer fellowship at Ellis Fischel in Columbia, Missouri, in 1970, he moved to Mexico to practice medicine with Dr. Ned Rodes, and he never left. For the next 52 years, he served Audrain County with tireless devotion, performing thousands of surgeries, running his own private practice, and caring deeply for the people who entrusted him with their health. He participated in the Missouri State Medical Society throughout his long career.

In today's age of medical specialization, it's hard to convey the breadth of his medical expertise. Dr. Wilbers' practice included emergency appendectomies, trauma surgery, cancer detection and surgery, amputations, endoscopic procedures, and more. He was known not only for his dedication to quality care, but for practicing medicine as a vocation throughout his life— giving patients his home phone number, visiting them in nursing homes, making house calls, and checking on friends after long hospital shifts. He valued each person as fully deserving of his respect and personal attention, always guided by compassion, intellect, and a tenacious sense of responsibility.

Ray was also a man of great personal integrity and quiet faith. A lifelong Catholic, he grew up in St. Joseph Parish in Westphalia and lived as a member of St. Brendan Catholic Church in Mexico. He lived his beliefs through consistency, generosity, and humble service to others. Over the years, he supported many causes including the local YMCA, Vitae Foundation, Missouri Right to Life, St. Brendan's School, and many religious charities.

Though his schedule was demanding, Ray never lost sight of what mattered most. He was married to the love of his life, Karen (Krell) Wilbers, for 61 years. They met at the University of Missouri Medical School while he was on clinical rotations and she was a nursing student. They married on June 27, 1964. Together they built a beautiful life and family, raising four children: Chris Wilbers, M.D. (Colette), Susan Dehmlow (Jon), Julie McKeown (Simon), and John Wilbers.

He was a devoted grandpa to fourteen grandchildren: Pippin, Henry, and Hannah Wilbers; Esther, Nate, Ben, and Isaiah Dehmlow; Jonah, Christian, Rory, Sophie, Rosanna, Dominic, and Brendan McKeown. In the last three and a half years, Ray and Karen have been blessed with eight great-grandchildren, with another on the way, all of whom have brought them great joy.

In the early 1980s, Ray founded Fish Branch Farm, raising and selling Angus cattle. He loved studying genetics and herd building. Every one of his children worked on that farm in some capacity in their younger years, learning lessons about hard work and responsibility.

A brilliant mind, Ray was known for reciting poetry and Shakespeare with incredible recall, even into his final days. He loved old country songs, studying German, and slipping in a joke to fit every time and season. Ray loved sharing a good book, and he always had a stack of them by his chair. He provided strength, wisdom, and stability to his family and community.

He was preceded in death by his parents Tony and Sophie Wilbers and his siblings Alice and Jimmy, and he is survived by his siblings Robert Wilbers (Mary), Kathy Koch, and Brother Roman "Butchy" Wilbers.

In reflecting on his life, Ray once said, "I always thought I would take over my dad's service station and restaurant, and that wouldn't have been bad. But I was very, very lucky to meet the people I did at the right time…that I was able to do what I did." He certainly had a passion for healing and medicine, and he carried it as his highest duty and not merely as a job. Medicine became his occupation and vocation.

He lived a life of service, faithfulness, intellect, and love. His legacy will live on in the lives he saved, the family he raised, and the countless people he touched.

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."
— Robert Frost

The family requests memorial donations be made to Vitae Foundation or St. Brendan's Education Foundation. Memorials may be sent in care of Arnold Funeral Home, 425 S. Jefferson, Mexico, MO 65265.