WEATHERFORD —  

The locals know Ray Magallan, a cerebral palsy victim who has walked aimlessly down city streets for years, fighting frustration, anger and utter hopelessness with substance abuse and attempts at suicide.

He grew up here in Weatherford. Shunted off to special education classes because of his physical disabilities — not his mental capabilities — he quit high school in the 10th grade.

“Ray grew up having to fight discrimination from everybody, fellow students ... his family,” Jim Morrow, Magallan’s intern coordinator at the Center of Hope said. “No one could see his internal strengths because of his outward appearance.

“But the beautiful part of Ray is that even though he has been challenged, he has grown to be a fine man. It is by the grace of God.”

The grace of God exercised through the love and compassion of a friend.

Angry and upset with family problems, Magallan was out walking some eight years ago when he reconnected with high school acquaintance Danny Johnson. Johnson owned a local craft mall and was outside painting boards.

“I asked him if I could help and he said ‘yes.’” Magallan said. “[Later in the relationship] he took on the role of a big brother. He would tell me to shave and cut my hair. He pushed me a lot because he saw what was inside me. He made me stand up on my own.”

Magallan began mowing lawns, pushing his mower and carrying his gas can and weedeater everywhere because he had no transportation. 

Eight years later, tired of the physical exertion, he moved on to complete the requirements for his GED with the Weatherford ISD. Then, half jokingly, he filled out an application for Weatherford College, and one thing led to another.

“At first I wanted to quit,” Magallan said. “I thought, ‘what have I gotten myself into?’ But people wouldn’t let me.”

He credits Bonnie and Darrell Runndale, friends and supporters, for being the wind beneath his wings.

“They showed me so much love and so much concern that I thought it was unbelievable,” he said. “I tested them, but no matter what I did, they would say, ‘whatever, come over.’ 

“I had a hard time — struggles not only with academics, but with emotional and behavioral issues, too.”

Bernadean Connell, a counselor at Weatherford College who accommodates students who are challenged, has helped Magallan through some of those struggles, side by side with counselors J.C. Colton and Duane Durrett. 

Connell first met him in 2006.

“We have a network of caring tutors who have been supportive of Ray,” she said. “A group of students that has helped him. We’ve all been a part of it. 

“We have watched him begin to have confidence and change, and he keeps getting better and better. We look at people here and see their worth and dignity. We want them to have the tools in place that will allow them to have accessibility to success.”

In his pursuit of an accounting clerk certificate, Magallan had to complete a practicum. Connell decided to turn to a Christ-based non-profit, the Center of Hope in Weatherford.

“She asked me if I would take a business accounting intern, and then she came over here with Ray,” Morrow said. “I was very intrigued by him.” 

Morrow’s commitment didn’t waver even when Center of Hope Director Paula Robinson recognized Magallan as a troublemaker who had been thrown out of the center for engaging in a fist fight years ago.

“He had overcome so much,” he said. “I was honored to have him as an intern.”

For a month and a half, Morrow instructed Magallan and took him everywhere — to businesses, churches and Rotary Club.

“What I saw was that everyone knew him and respected him because they knew that he was challenged,” Morrow said. “They were very happy to see the new Ray.”

In May, Magallan was out walking again. But this time, it was on the stage of Weatherford College, and it signaled the completion of his accounting clerk certificate. 

And he’s not resting on those laurels, either. Magallan has already enrolled in courses for the fall that will help him complete an associate in applied science degree with a focus on business.

Success tastes especially sweet at the end of a long, hard road, and Magallan’s road has been especially hard and all uphill. Through the journey though, he has learned life is best negotiated by engaging in it, not dropping out of it.

“You can quit and give up, or you can stand up and fight for what you believe in,” Magallan said. “For many years I didn’t know that.”

Magallan’s success can also be measured, Morrow said, in how he has accepted himself.

“He lets people love him now,” he said. “He has finally accepted that he is worthy of love.”