A beloved holiday volunteer and local pastor has died in a motorcycle collision.
The crash happened around noon on Friday, March 27, at the intersection of Industrial Boulevard on FM 1431 in Marble Falls.
According to Marble Falls police, “The deceased was identified as 65-year-old Raymond Keasler Jr. of Granite Shoals.”
Emergency crews responded to the collision “involving a motorcycle and a box truck,” the statement continued.
Keasler, the pastor for Abundant Heart Church in Granite Shoals, was well-known for his role as Santa Claus for the annual Walkway of Lights in Santa Land in Lakeside Park as well as downtown Main Street events.
“With a very heavy heart, we share that someone incredibly special to our Ms Lollipop family has passed unexpectedly,” wrote Cheryl Westerman on her social media business page. “For the past 8 years, Ray Keasler helped bring the magic of Santa to life on Main Street … creating smiles, hugs, laughter, and memories that will live on forever in the hearts of so many children and families.
“He was also a true staple in our community and a pastor at Abundant Heart Church – touching countless lives with his kindness, faith, and heart for others.
Keasler’s wife Lucretia, who goes by “Cricket”, portrayed Mrs. Claus, alongside him.
“Right now, our hearts are especially with Cricket his wife and family as they walk through this unimaginable loss. We ask our community to lift them up in love, prayers and support,” Westerman wrote.
In a Voyage Austin feature, Keasler was described as an avid biker who began preaching the gospel after being saved.
“After suffering from lung disease and extreme addiction, the New Me started following the Lord and His Word; the Bible,” Keasler shared in the feature which published in 2025. “14 years ago, spring of 2011, we were traveling evangelists and sitting on my back porch with plans to visit all the churches in our district to be an encourager to the pastors of those churches the Lord spoke to me, not orally but internally in my Spirit and told me to stay home.”
He described his pivotal role in cultivating the church in Granite Shoals.
“The weekend after Easter 2013 we moved into the building we’re in now – we did this on faith because it had to be God to provide the provision for the vision,” he wrote. “Over the 14 years we’ve seen a lot, we seen great things, good things and some not so good things but we’ve persevered through it all and Cricket and I grew from it.”
Keasler’s philanthropic work included Ark of Highland Lakes in Marble Falls, Christian Women’s Job Corps in Burnet and a motorcycle ministry, The Guardians of the Children.
“Our focus is the youth. There are too many kids and youth who are having a hard time with what’s going on in the world and we want to be able to support them, and give them a safe place to grow,” he wrote.
Westerman expounded on the community’s sorrow because of the loss: “For our little ones who believe in the magic of Christmas … that magic doesn’t come from just one person – it lives on in all of us. And because of him, that magic is stronger than ever.”
A celebration of life for Keasler is scheduled for 2 p.m. at LifeFamily Church, 1901 Mormon Mill, in Marble Falls.
