Dr. Raymond Jean Tassin was born in Holdenville, Oklahoma on April 20, 1926 to Bennie Raymond and Virginia Mae (Lollis) Tassin. He had one sister Iona Mae Tassin, deceased. He and his wife, (then students at ECSC, Ada, Oklahoma) Martha Grace Greer were married March 31, 1926 in Ada. They had one son, Mark Alan Tassin, deceased, who finished his bachelor's degree at UCO and was married in 1975. He had joined the Marines, then died of an aneurysm at 22. Ray traced the genealogy of Mark from Daniel Boone's brother Israel who was Ray’s great great great great grandfather through an unbroken line of soldiers to Mark.
Early in life Ray learned about mechanics and machinery in his father's service station and auto mechanic shop. Ray graduated from Holdenville High School in 1944. At 17 years old he joined the Navy for World War II duty. For the next 2 1/2 years he served as a gunner, motor, and ship’s storekeeper in the Pacific battle area. He served on three destroyers and received 14 battle stars and seven campaign ribbons. He completed a BA in 1950 and an MA in 1957 both at the University of Oklahoma. In 1964 Ray finished a PhD in journalism at the University of Missouri.
He was honorably discharged from the the United States Navy in 1946 but joined the Navy reserves until he retired in 1982.
He worked as a reporter for the Chickasha Daily Express from 1950 through 1951. Then he became a news editor in Clinton, Oklahoma for the Daily News from 1951 through 1953. He then became the editor and publisher for the Konawa Leader from 1953 through 1956. He was then employed by the Daily Oklahoman as a rewrite deskman from 1956 through 1957. He became an assistant professor at Baylor University in Waco, Texas from 1957 through 1960. In Waco he became a copy editor for the News -Tribune from 1958 through 1960. Next he was a page editor for the Missourian in Columbus, Missouri from 1960 through 1961. He became a copy editor for the Oklahoma City Times in 1962. He settled down in 1961 as a professor of journalism at Central State College, now UCO in Edmond, Oklahoma. He in 1966 helped establish a journalism department and chaired it until he retired in 1990.
Dr. Tassin published six books. He wrote two historical novels about the West, Red Men in Blue, 1960 and Steel Trails of Vengeance ,1961. He also wrote four nonfiction books, Daily Newspaper Semi-Mergers, 1957, Stanley Vestal, Champion of the Old West, 1972, Discount Homebuilding, 1974, and Double Winners of the Medal of Honor, 1986.
His main hobby (other than reading three books a day) was restoring antiques. He owned a shop which would allow people to dip and strip old finishes off large antiques. He contracted and supervised all the steps in building his own house while photographing each step and published a book on how to build your own discount house. Among the many awards which honored him was the World War II victory medal, Oklahoma County delegate for the Democratic Party 1968, 1972 and 1976, Okie Award for Best Nonfiction in 1974, the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 1983, Honorary Life Member of the Oklahoma Writers Federation, (president from 1986 through 88), and Oklahoma professional writer of the year, 1974.
Ray and Martha Tassin were actively affiliated with the first Baptist Church of Edmond, Oklahoma. Before retirement Martha taught kindergarten in Edmond and now lives at Clare Bridge in Oklahoma City.
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