Raymond “Ray” Ralph Paul Huebschman, 89, of Seward, went to be home with his Lord on May 11, 2026.
He was born July 19, 1936, in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Elmer and Frieda (Ruediger) Huebschman. After high school, Ray worked in the Detroit area for five years, during which time he served in the Navy Reserve. In 1960, he entered Concordia Teachers College in Seward, where he met the light of his life, Dorothea Koepp. After they married in 1963, they moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana. While there, Ray earned his Master’s Degree from Indiana University in 1969, taught at Concordia Lutheran High School, and served as the Director of Christian Education for Holy Cross Lutheran Church.
In addition to teaching, Ray also had a passion for the audio visual arts which led him to start the first high school radio station in Fort Wayne. Also, while at Holy Cross, he helped initiate the return of “Worship for Shut-Ins,” a television ministry that he proceeded to produce and direct for five years. Now called “Worship Anew,” the program is in its 46th year under Lutheran Ministries Media and is broadcast internationally.
In 1984, Ray accepted the call to return to his alma mater in Seward, now Concordia University, to serve as their media director. In 1992, he was appointed Dean of Information Technology, and in this role, he facilitated Concordia’s integration of computers, laptops, and internet into every area of education. In 1999, he earned a Doctorate of Educational Technology from Southwestern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
After retiring from Concordia, Ray and Dottie volunteered to assist those Indonesians who suffered terrible loss in the 2004 tsunami that killed over 100,000 people. Working with the Lutheran church, they spent several semesters teaching in the schools in Banda Aceh while sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ at every opportunity. Stateside, Ray was passionate about sharing the love of Jesus through many outlets, including teaching Bible classes at his home congregation, St. John Lutheran Church in Seward, tutoring catechumens in his home, volunteering with the Gideons International, and together with Dottie, doing mission trips to Alaska.
Ray and Dottie also loved to host gatherings in their home for friends and family, playing bridge, making ice cream sundaes for their grandchildren, and in later years hosting movie nights. He was known for his wry and witty jokes and his trade-mark bird whistle. Most of all, he was passionate about serving his Lord and loving the church at large while being grateful to the point of tears for all the blessings God gave him in this life. In his last days, he couldn’t wait to see Jesus face to face.
Ray is survived by son, Tim (Paula) Huebschman of Plymouth, Wisconsin; daughter, Kathy (Scott) McDonald of Overland Park, Kansas; and son, Jeff (Erin) Huebschman of Lancaster, Wisconsin. He was also blessed with seven grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother-in-law Robert, (Janet) Koepp, eight nieces and eight nephews, and many dear friends and former colleagues in the Seward community.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Dorothea, and his sisters, Margaret Trader and Mildred Ayres.
A memorial service will be Saturday, July 18, at 10:30 a.m. at St. John Lutheran Church in Seward with committal following at the Greenwood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the St. John Lutheran Church in Seward, Concordia University, Nebraska, and Mission Central in Mapleton, Iowa.
Arrangements by Volzke Funeral Home.
