Walter Wyman Ragg

Wy was born in Miami to Lucille “Prissy” Morris and Walter Wyman “Willie” Ragg Sr. on November 3, 1949. He went to Berkeley Preparatory School, graduating in 1967 before attending Stetson University and the University of South Florida. He met the love of his life, Sandra “Sandi” White on a blind date when they were sixteen years old and they married on June 27, 1969 in Tampa. Wyman learned cattle ranching next to his father, working and living on the 1,300 acre Ragg Ranch until it was sold to become the Northdale subdivision. Wyman and Sandi raised two daughters, Amy and Jennifer, together on ten acres behind Northdale where they welcomed friends, family, and animals of all kinds to grow with them. Wyman, like his father before him, never met a stranger. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Wyman and Sandi created an incredible “village” of characters to surround them and their girls as they grew together. In later years, their village grew to include beloved friends he made and shared through Twitter and Instagram. Their outpouring of love and support has been overwhelming.

A lifelong love affair with NASCAR meant that racing could be seen on a screen somewhere in his home at almost all times. If it had four wheels and an engine, Wy wanted to watch it! The advent of the internet brought car racing podcasts and YouTube. Weekly editions of Dale Jr. Download were a constant source of entertainment.

Wy’s sharing wasn’t limited to racing, He loved to find obscure documentaries on things we never knew we needed to know. To enter his home was to be introduced to anything from Tuvan throat singing to raising show chickens, cruising the rivers of the UK on narrow boats, or running moonshine in Appalachia. Watching with Wy was always an adventure!

If NASCAR and documentaries were Wy’s passion, music was his love language. The music of Phish, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, Mandy Patinkin, Amos Lee, Emmy Lou Harris, Woody and Arlo Guthrie, and John Prine, laid the foundation for the soundtrack of his life. It was lost on no one who knew him that Wy died on the anniversary of the death of his all-time favorite, John Prine. He always had exceptional timing.

Wyman is survived by Sandi, his bride of fifty-four years, his daughters Amy and Jennifer, adopted daughter Jalyn, grandson Aidan, and countless dear friends and extended family.

Wyman wanted a celebration rather than a funeral, so his village will celebrate him on April 20th at 4:20, as he would have enjoyed. The family will receive visitors the next day Friday, April 21st, 2023 in their home at 11053 Streamside Drive, Tampa beginning at 1:00 in the afternoon and continuing into the evening.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Wy’s honor to https://togetherrising.org/.