Raymond Odell West Sr.

Raymond Odell West, Sr., 89, of Orlando, Florida passed away to be with our Lord on January 2, 2012. He was born in Nashville, Tennessee on October 13, 1922. Ray was a graduate of Orlando Senior High School and was an honorable military veteran serving in the Army from 1940 to 1944. He married his sweetheart, Bettye Mae Wills on June 5, 1941. On August 16, 1943, Ray and Bettye’s only child, Ray Jr., was also born in Nashville. The family moved to Orlando three years later, a place they would from then on call their home. Following his dedicated service to the Army, he founded and ran R.O. West Roofing for many years. Later he assisted his son’s businesses, Central Florida Mechanical, Inc. and Porky’s Prime Bar-B-Que. A devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, his love for the game of baseball was unprecedented. The history of this sport in Orlando unfolded through his passion and devotion as founder and manager of and player for the Orlando Aces amateur baseball club (1946-1963). Under his leadership, the team won league championships in 1953, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961 & 1962. His 1957 and 1958 championship teams were the first teams from Orlando to ever appear in the Amateur World Series held in Battle Creek, Michigan. In 1963, Ray was elected President of the Central Florida League. According to Ray Jr., “Tinker Field and Orlando, the City Beautiful, were the two places my dad always called home. He was a consummate storyteller with chronicled history as he loved to recount tales of his baseball years and most specifically our years playing together at Tinker Field, changes he witnessed throughout the city of Orlando and the homesickness he felt during his years away in the military, thousands of miles from his beloved Bettye. Our family will always cherish a wonderful, sweet and caring man who valued quality time spent with family over inconsequential daily trivial matters.” He is survived by Raymond Odell West, Jr. (Miriam Cowart), granddaughters Lisa Grzeszczak (Chris), Shannon George (Richard), and Leslie West, and great grandchildren, Emily and Eric George, and Christopher, Caroline, Natalie, and Zachary Grzeszczak. Funeral arrangements handled by Woodlawn Memorial Park and Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Central Christian Church-The Drive In in Raymond's name.