Did not know him but enjoyed his posts here. Condolences to his family and friends.
Did not know him but enjoyed his posts here. Condolences to his family and friends.
Shocked and surprised to be reading this.
Always enjoyed and appreciated his posts and learned some from his experience, but sadly never got the chance to meet him.
Thanks for letting us know Ewker. Rain Man will be missed. He was not afraid to be his own person and had the courage of his convictions; I always admired that about him.
So sad to hear. Rainman would periodically message me during my AT completion attempt to encourage and give valuable section hiker info. I will miss his posts and thoughtful messages. Too soon buddy
Trail Miles: 5,125.9
AT Map 1: Completed 13-21'
Sheltowee Trace: Completed 20-23'
Pinhoti Trail: Completed 23-24'
GSMNP900: 134.7(16.8%)
Foothills Trail: 47.9
AT Map 2: 279.4
CDT: 210.9
BMT: 52.7
Wow, really hate to hear this, always enjoyed his posts. RIP.
Oh, no! So very sorry to hear that. He will be greatly missed. My sincere condolences to his family and friends.
I met Rainman and Teacher at Caratunk B&b when we had finished our section hike 4 years ago. I was wearing an orange tee-shirt, as was Rainman and another hiker. He asked us if we were Clemson fans. It took me a moment to get what he was asking.
Rest Easy Rainman.
Here is a link to an obituary post on his FB page. He was a good person and I think all who knew him will miss him. My condolences to his friends and family. https://www.facebook.com/1446771446/...96703/?app=fbl
For those who many be able to access the Facebook link, here's the text:
Dear friends of Raymond,
C. Raymond Myers, Jr. passed away on August 14, 2020. At his passing, he was with Jenny, his beloved wife of 45 years and trusted partner in all things, and his youngest daughter Patricia. He is also survived by his daughters Amy (Andy) and Sarah (Chris) and four doting grandchildren who adore their playful Grandpa. He is survived by his mother, Pat, and his wonderful bonus dad, Ron. His father, Charles, passed on earlier this year. From his dad, he learned to be handy and resourceful. From his mom, he learned to love fiercely, no matter our differences, and to be loyal and generous. He is the oldest of five siblings, who he loves very much and whom he loved pranking very much. He is survived by Elaine (Syd), Linda, and Paul and preceded by Phil.
Raymond loved being a parent. He was highly engaged with his daughters' education and activities. He served as president of the PTA and band boosters (a decade of Overton High School band members will remember his distinctive red hat) and led an effort before the school board to address inequity in girls' and boys' sports when his oldest daughter started running track. He provided anonymous scholarships for his daughters' classmates to participate in school activities. He encouraged (and funded) his children's travel and diverse interests. He never missed an opportunity to tell his daughters how much he loved them and how proud he was of them.
Raymond has an expansive sense of family that included 13 exchange students who he loves as his own children. He and Jenny also welcomed into their home a family who didn't have a home and several young people starting out in the world. He nurtured his daughters' love of furry family members, rescuing several cats and dogs, including his most recent dog, Boone, who he adopted immediately upon finding him abandoned in the woods.
Always one who loved nature, he and Jenny mapped caves as newlyweds, and, later, he took his children, exchange students, and Sunday School students on various camping trips. In recent years, he found his way into a wonderful community of hiking friends who knew him by his trail name Rain Man. He completed all of the AT and John Muir trail and organized many hikes and kayaking camping trips, a source of great joy.
Raymond was also engaged in his much-loved church family, serving his church, the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in a number of capacities, including as First Reader (conducting the services) and chair of the board.
As an attorney, he cared deeply about his clients and was known to accept payment in firewood. He served as president of the Williamson County Bar Association and did significant pro bono work. He is a outspoken feminist and antiracist and actively supported liberation for marginalized communities.
He was raised in Powdersville, South Carolina and graduated from Wren High School. And, as everyone who knows Raymond is well aware, he was a proud Clemson alumnus. Go Tigers!
Raymond is generous and spirituality-minded, and he exemplifies integrity. He will be remembered as a loving father, husband, son, brother, neighbor, and friend.
We will announce details of a memorial service soon. In lieu of flowers, donations in his honor may be made to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (https://appalachiantrail.org/) or his church, the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Nashville, TN (https://christiansciencenashville.org/).
Rain Man was always a hoot to chat with on here. Great resource for hiking. Had the pleasure of a quick meet up with him at US421 years back on his section hike to Damascus.
''Tennessee Viking'
Mountains to Sea Trail Hiker & Maintainer
Former TEHCC (AT) Maintainer
Cookerhiker, thanks for posting that. I didn't get on Facebook yesterday. I have looked for an obituary in the newspaper but couldn't find one. Maybe they used Facebook instead.
Conquest: It is not the Mountain we conquer but Ourselves
I hiked with Rain Man several times with the Nashville Backpacking group. He was always patient with new hikers, a true teacher. Generous with his time and extra gear, and I remember he enjoyed quizzing people on state capitols on the drive to the trailhead. I knew he was a special gentleman from our conversations, but reading his obit shows how generous he really was.
Sad to hear the news, but happy he completed his AT hike before this happened. Hope his family sees the comments that have been shared.
Rain Man's family has planned a memorial celebration via Zoom for this Saturday afternoon, December 6. Note that the time of 3 PM is Central Time. Here are the details.
Dear Friends of Raymond,
You are warmly invited to a virtual celebration of the life of Raymond Myers
to be held on Zoom on Sunday, Dec 6th at 3:00 pm Central Time (U.S.). The link is below.
We will begin the celebration with a recording of the family-only memorial service held in September. There will also be time for sharing your memories and comments about Raymond/Rainman. (Please keep comments and stories to under 2 minutes.) If you prefer to share your comments directly with our family or to have someone else read them during the service, please send them to Raymond's FB account via messenger or to [email protected].
We look forward to seeing you and hearing your remarks.
With love,
Jenny Myers, Amy Myers, Sarah Sampas, and Patricia Myers
Time: Dec 6, 2020 03:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85864604995...
Meeting ID: 858 6460 4995
Passcode: 980191
or
Dial by your location
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
Meeting ID: 858 6460 4995
Passcode: 980191
Trail Miles: 5,125.9
AT Map 1: Completed 13-21'
Sheltowee Trace: Completed 20-23'
Pinhoti Trail: Completed 23-24'
GSMNP900: 134.7(16.8%)
Foothills Trail: 47.9
AT Map 2: 279.4
CDT: 210.9
BMT: 52.7
If you click the meeting link, it comes up as being scheduled for 12/6 at 4pm (EST), so it's definitely on Sunday.
My mistake! Thanks for clarifying.
I don't visit here much anymore so I am just now seeing this. I went to a few of his hiker dinners and get togethers in Nashville and a hang or two with him and Neo. This gentleman was a first class human being and represented all that was good in the hiking community. RIP, friend. You are and will be missed.