Raymond Douglas Daniel

THE WORLD HAS SUFFERED THE LOSS OF A GREAT AMERICAN HERO…..OUR HERO, USAF MAJOR RAYMOND DOUGLAS DANIEL, 10-01-21 TO 8-16-17…..A CHRISTIAN, HUSBAND, FATHER, DAD, GRANDFATHER, GREAT- GRANDFATHER, PEEPAW, FRIEND, TEACHER, MENTOR AND PARTNER. RAYMOND DOUGLAS DANIEL WAS BORN IN WEST COLUMBIA, TEXAS IN 1921. HIS LOVE FOR AIRPLANES WAS EVIDENT SINCE EARLY CHILDHOOD, USING SCRAP WOOD TO HANDMAKE TOY PLANES WITH WIND-UP RUBBER BAND PROPELLERS. AS A BOY, HE DELIVERED TELEGRAMS FROM 6PM TO MIDNIGHT. HE WOULD WALK 2 MILES TO THE AIRPORT JUST TO BE AROUND AIRPLANES AND WAS THRILLED WHEN PILOTS LET HIM DUST OFF THE PLANES ALONG THE FLIGHTLINE. RAY ATTENDED HIGHSCHOOL AND WAS SALUTATORIAN OF HIS GRADUATING CLASS IN ABILINE, TEXAS. RAY WAS TECHNICALLY UNDER AGE WHEN HE SIGNED UP TO SERVE IN THE AIR FORCE, JANUARY 1941, JUST AFTER THE , DECLARATION OF WAR (WWII) AND WAS A MEMBER OF THE 43D/43E FIGHTER PILOT GRADUATING CLASS. HE BEGAN FLYING THE P61 BLACK WIDOW IMMEDIATELY AS A “NIGHT FIGHTER PILOT” WITH THE 421ST SQUADRON, IN THE PACIFIC THEATER. MILITARY RECORDS SHOW, RAY WAS THE LAST SURVIVING “NIGHT FIGHTER PILOT” FROM WWII, FLYING MANY VARIOUS AIRCRAFT BUT MOSTLY THE P61 BLACK WIDOW FIGHTER BOMBER. OVER HIS LONG CAREER, HE LOGGED OVER 10,000 FLIGHT HOURS, RETIRING AFTER 26 YEARS IN THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE. RAY EXPERIENCED MANY NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES AS A COMBAT PILOT. HE SURVIVED AND CAME TO LIVE IN FLORIDA AFTER THE WAR AND CONTINUED AS AN FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR, TRAINER, COMMERCIAL CORPORATE PILOT AND CROP DUSTER, JUST FOR FUN. HE WAS RECALLED AS A MILITARY INSTRUCTOR PILOT BUT ULTIMATELY RETIRED AT THE RANK OF MAJOR, AFTER A TOTAL OF 26 YEARS MILITARY SERVICE. RAY RETIRED TO FLORIDA A SECOND TIME, CONTINUED TO FLY AS A COMMERCIAL CORPORATE PILOT RENEWING HIS COMMERCIAL LICENSE FOR THE LAST TIME IN 2010. RAY ATTENDED AND GRADUATED FLORIDA SOUTHERN COLLEGE, GRADUATING IN 1967 WITH HIS DEGREE IN INDUSTRIAL ARTS. HE THEN BEGAN HIS 15 YEAR SECOND CAREER TEACHING INDUSTRIAL ARTS AT AUBURNDALE HIGH SCHOOL, RETURNING TO UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA WHERE HE RECEIVED HIS MASTERS DEGREE WHERE HE MET AND MARRIED BETTY LYON DANIEL. IN CIVILIAN LIFE, HE TRAVELED, WAS A WOOD CARVER, A BLACKSMITH, A BUILDING CONTRACTOR, TEACHER, VOLUNTEER LIBRARIAN FOR SUN AND FUN AVATION MUSEUM. HE OBTAINED HIS BUILDING CONTRACTORS LICENSE, BECAME A RESPECTED CONTRACTOR IN LAKELAND, BUILDING MANY HOMES OVER THE YEARS. MORE THAN ANYTHING IN HIS LIFE AND CAREER, RAY DANIEL WAS PROUD OF HIS FAMILY…..BEING PRECEDED IN DEATH BY HIS FIRST WIFE, SUSAN DANIEL, BEING NOW SURVIVED BY HIS SECOND WIFE, BETTY DANIEL, HIS SONS, RON DANIEL (BEVERLY DANIEL), LARRY DANIEL (CONNIE DANIEL) AND MIKE SCHMIDT (DEBORAH SCHMIDT). HE WAS A LOVING GRANDFATHER TO JENNIFER SCHMIDT PRICE (MICHAEL PRICE) AND CHERI SCHMIDT TAYLOR (BRANDON TAYLOR) AND A PROUD, LOVING GREAT GRANDFATHER TO LORELEI PRICE, ANNALEIGH TAYLOR, ASHLYNN TAYLOR, HIS ONLY GRANDSON AND NAMESAKE, WILLIAM RAYMOND PRICE. WE CELEBRATE HIS AMAZING LIFE, BUT STILL FEEL A LOSS OF INTENSITY NOT BEFORE ENDURED. INTO THE WILD BLUE YONDER, RAY DANIEL WENT TO BE WITH THE LORD. BLESS YOU SIR AND REST YOUR WEARY FEET. WE WILL TAKE THE WATCH FROM HERE…. ‘TIL WE MEET AGAIN IN GLORY, FLY HIGH PEEPAW, THE SKY IS YOURS ONCE MORE. A VISITATION WILL BE HELD FROM 10:30 AM - 11 AM ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 19TH AT HIGHLAND PARK CHURCH, 4777 LAKELAND HIGHLANDS ROAD, LAKELAND, FL. A MEMORIAL SERVICE WILL FOLLOW AT 11 AM AT THE CHURCH. IN LIEU OF FLOWERS, DONATIONS MAY BE MADE IN HONOR OF RAY TO THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN QUILTERS GUILD, FOR QUILTS OF VALOR (LIST IN MEMO), P.O. BOX 138, FRANKLIN, NC 28744. THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN QUILTERS GUILD IS AN APPROVED 501(C)(3) ORGANIZATION.

Raymond Douglas Daniel

October 1, 1921 - August 16, 2017