Dublin is mourning a man who spent decades serving the community and its citizens as Dr. Harlan Raley passed away Friday, Aug. 30 at the age of 97 in Fort Worth.
Raley may be remembered for serving as a dentist for 70 years and serving multiple roles in community organizations. This included a 26 year stint as a Dublin EDC director.
“You want to improve the lives of the people in your community,” Raley said of his reasons for volunteering in a 2017 interview.
He was awarded the Golden Trowel by the Dublin Masonic lodge for his continued service. (He joked that he didn’t know why because he never joined the lodge.)
That’s one of the few boards he hasn’t served. Raley was a longtime member of the Rotary Club, a founding member of the First National Bank board of directors and served on the City Council (where he helped approve the airport), the Chamber of Commerce and the EDC. He also served on the First United Methodist Church board as chairman and helped oversee the church’s move from Patrick Street to Highland.
Harlan was born April 4, 1927, in Clifton to William and Audrey Raley. Although he grew up in Clyde, he quickly grew to like Dublin when his father took a position as superintendent here.
He enrolled in John Tarleton Agricultural College but joined the Navy to serve in the war being waged in the Pacific. The 1944 graduate didn’t have to serve long before the dropping of the atomic bomb closed the war in 1945 and ended his term. He returned to Dublin to finish an associate’s degree at Tarleton.
He finished his degree at University of Texas before attending Baylor Dental School. Following his graduation, he learned that Dr. Henry Potts was selling his practice. Harlan bought the business in 1951, which he still operated until his retirement in 2022. Throughout his 70-year career, he saw a lot of advancements and has always enjoyed keeping on top of the latest technology. He said the greatest improvements since he started were the adoption of ultrasonic hand pieces in the 1970s and the inclusion of laser technology.
Raley said he was influenced in his career by a pharmacist he knew from Clyde. One day, Raley told him he was thinking of becoming a pharmacist because of him. “He told me he had three brothers, one who was a doctor, one who was a funeral director and one who was a dentist. He said, ‘I think I’d be a dentist.’ ” It’s a choice that served him and the people of Dublin well. It also started the careers of several more dentists such as Richard Harbin and Charles Crabtree, who were established at Raley’s Clinic before opening their own. Harlan continued to work three to four days per week after the age of 90.
His Dublin practice also resulted in a particularly special relationship when friends introduced him to Eddie Graham when she was attending Tarleton. They were married Oct. 1, 1955. The couple always has had a fondness for travel, an interest which was partially responsible for Raley’s decision to set up his practice in Dublin.
“It’s well-located in the state,” he said. “You can go to all the major cities easily and quickly.” The desire for fast travel also led him to earn his wings and start a decades-long habit of flying. “I’ve always liked the view,” he said of his cockpit vantage.
The last few years of his practice were spent working with Dr. Thomas Carroll who put up a plaque in recognition of Dr. Raley’s legacy and service when he took over the building and practice.
“I want to see everything get better,” Dr. Raley said as he was retiring from 26 years with the EDC. With his care for over 3,500 patients and years devoted to serving his community, Dublin is a better place thanks to his compassion, professionalism and guidance.
A memorial service will be held at a later date under the direction of Harrell Funeral Home. (Information will be shared in the Dublin Citizen and on the Citizen Facebook once available.)