Raymond Payton Akin Jr.

Funeral service for Raymond Payton Akin, Jr. will be 2 p.m., Fri., April 16, at First Christian Church with Pastor Charles Ragland officiating. Burial with military honors by the VFW 5th District Rifle Squad will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery. Visitation will be held at the funeral home Thurs. 1-8 p.m., and family will greet friends 5-7 p.m.
Raymond Payton Akin, Jr. was born on August 8, 1924, in Claremore, Oklahoma. He was the son of Mabel and Raymond Payton Akin, Sr. Raymond was the eldest of seven children.
Raymond attended Claremore Public Schools and graduated from Claremore High School with the Class of l942.
During his high school years, he owned and operated Akin Bicycle Shop. He sold the bicycle shop when he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air corp during World War II. He served with the 8th Air Corp in Great Britain on the East Anglican Coast. It is there he met and married his wife, Muriel "Peggy" Bibby in l944 at Camp Sea-Ashe, England.
After the war was won, Raymond returned to Claremore with his "war bride" and bought the Twin Oaks Hotel in downtown Claremore on Main Street. At the same time he began working in the family plumbing contracting business. Akin Plumbing Company.
Raymond served his community on the Claremore City Council for 4 terms. The first 2 terms were in the l950's and the second two in the late l980's and early l990's. During his early service on the council, he oversaw and worked on the creation of the Claremore Health Center (now known as the Claremore Regional Hospital) and the second was the Claremore Public Swimming Pool that served the city for 50 years at Veteran's Park.
After his retirement from the family business, he again ran and was elected to 2 more terms on the Claremore City Council. Under his service for these 2 terms, Claremore gained the new Will Rogers Library and the Claremore Police Station.
Of his many accomplishments as a civic leader and citizen of his beloved Claremore, Raymond, Pat Johnson and Derm Cloud and other members of the local American Legion at the time, worked and participated in building the American Legion Ballpark which is still located at Sioux and Blue Starr in Claremore. Raymond was honored at the 2nd Annual "Field of Dreams Banquet" in 2007 and at that time, his name was added to the Legends of Legion plaque at the ballpark.
Raymond's children are Carol Akin Robinson and husband Ron of Vista, California and Ray Akin, III and wife Janie of Claremore. He has one granddaughter, Jennifer Arellano and husband Paul of Bonsall, California, two grandsons, U.S. Air Force Captain Raymond Payton Akin IV, and James Joseph Akin of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and one great grandson, Aaron Anthony Arellano of Bonsall, California.
Preceded in death by his parents, Ray and Mabel Akin, his wife, Peggy Akin, brother, Don Akin, and sister, Margaret Crutchfield. Others surviving members of his family are: brothers Kendall and wife, Dossie; Tommy and wife, Lois; and Paul and wife, Susan; sister, Martha Morrisett; brother-in-law, Don Crutchfield; and sister-in-law, Faith Akin; along with numerous nieces and nephews and other family and friends.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Shriners Cincinnati Hospital, 3229 Burnett Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45229-3095.