Ray Griffin

McKinny, Texas.

His parents, H. D. Griffin & Edith Griffin, were children of early settlers of Collin County, Texas. He graduated from Sherman High School in 1942. He was an outstanding tennis player having been to the state tournament in 1941 & 1942 after winning the district and regional titles of North Texas.

He volunteered for the Army Air Force in 1943 and received his wings in 1944 at Williams Air Force Base in Chandler, Arizona. After training in B-25 medium bombers in Columbia, South Carolina, he arrived in Naples, Italy in early 1945. He was awarded the Po River Campaign Medal. When the war ended in May of 1945, they had to fly their planes back to the states. Due to the limited fuel capacity they had to fly a hazardous route back home. The trip took ten days and included these stops. Tunis, Marrakesh, Dakar, Liberia, Ascension Island, Natal Brazil, Belem Brazil, Dutch Guiana and Puerto Rico. He was discharged in September of 1945.

He then enrolled in the University of Texas and while there he played on the tennis team. After college, he went to work in Houston as the manager of a drive–in theatre. It was there that he met the love of his life, Margaret Louise Howell Griffin. They were married in April of 1950 and had 49 years of married life. She preceded him in death in April 1999. They were blessed with two children, Donna Beth and Randy Ray. They moved to Austin in 1966. He managed the Paramount Theatre and State Theatres.

He went to work for KXAN TV in 1976 as account executive. He retired in 1990 and has enjoyed his retirement. He was a member of the Austin Senior Golf Association and was an avid golfer.

He is survived by his daughter, Donna Beth Gaines; his son, Randy Ray Griffin;

four grandchildren, Wendy Rae Dieringer, Charmayne Gaines, Melissa Cochran, Ray Clayton Griffin; two great-grandchildren, Jason Lockie, Sarah Dieringer; two sisters, Paula Jean Jackson and Virginia Lee Collie.

Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from six o’clock until eight o’clock in the evening, on Friday, the 1st of February 2013, at Cook-Walden Funeral Home, 6100 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, Texas.

A funeral service will be conducted at two o’clock in the afternoon on Saturday, the 2nd of February 2013, in the Colonial Chapel of Cook-Walden Funeral Home, 6100 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, Texas. Interment will follow in Cook-Walden Capital Parks, Pflugerville, Texas.

In lieu of flowers and the customary remembrances, memorials may be sent to the American Cancer Society, 2433 Ridgepoint Drive, Suite B, Austin, Texas, 78754 or Family Elder Care.

Condolences may be sent to www.cookwaldenfuneralhome.com.