Frank Wayne Ragland's Obituary
Frank Wayne Ragland passed away peacefully on February 14, 2024 after a brief illness. He was born on February 20, 1948 in Nashville, Tennessee. He spent his adult life in Auburn, Alabama. Wayne’s wonderfulness is impossible to capture in this short obituary, but with the help of family and dear friends here are few words to celebrate his glorious life.
Wayne graduated from Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He used his knowledge of managing money to serve his community. Wayne was the chief financial officer to the Alabama Council on Human Relations (a human services organization that, through direct services and family and community partnerships, has helped thousands of low-income and special needs families to become empowered, self-sufficient, productive members of society).Wayne oversaw their many programs including Head Start. He performed this challenging job with fiscal responsibility, good humor, and optimism.
Wayne dedicated his professional life and personal life to helping others and al-ways strove to make the world a better place. Wayne was a devoted and loving husband, father, and grandfather. He was the most generous and kind man who ever lived.
What a funny man he was. So quiet, yet every word was an observant zinger. People loved being in his presence, he had that smile on his face, and we knew every word would be good. His sense of humor was wry and also insightful; his kindness and compassion were obvious; He (and his hair) were oh-so handsome. We also loved listening to him talk—his lovely drawl was both charming and soothing. When Wayne’s wife, Margee, was teaching one summer at a university in Chile, the English professors there invited Wayne to speak to their classes so students, could hear and learn a true southern accent from the USA.
He loved adventure. Wayne and Margee traveled the world to Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland, China, Chile, Columbia, Russia, Bosnia Herzegovia, Croatia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia. Wayne immersed himself in every culture, but always kept his watch set on Central Time, a reminder that Auburn, Alabama, was always his home base. Wayne adored the outdoors and his cabin in the Alabama woods.
Wayne was a man of letters and numbers. An accountant by trade and a reader by compulsion, no crime, mystery, or historical fiction novel was left unturned.
Because Wayne was parsimonious, he traded books with a like-minded friend in Fairhope, often coercing others to deliver books between Fairhope and Auburn
saving not only the price of a book, but also the shipping costs. The two men, if so inclined, could have stocked a well-traveled bookstore from their home shelves.
Wayne’s last book was read bed-side by his steadfast wife, Margee. The staff assured her that he could hear as she read on through Wayne’s last days. A lucky man to have finished the book and be sorely missed by the reader and many others.
His family and friends are so sad that our wise, handsome, funny man is gone from this strange life. He is never really gone though. We are sure we will still "see" him in the produce section of Kroger or walking slowly through town. We love you Wayne Ragland.
Wayne is survived by his wife Margee Benning Bright Ragland; his four children, Channing Crawford Mason, Serey Brittain Bright, Forest Mitchel Bright, and Ryder Benning Bright; Wayne’s grandchildren, Margaret Aubrey Mason, Carter Wayne Mason, and Ben-ning Cong Bright; his Sister-in Law, Gail Ragland; his nephews George Ragland and Lee and Reggie Ragland and family; his cousins Dianne and Harold Creekmore and family, Forest and Cady Beasley and family, Brenda Reed and family, Jim and Randi Rummage and family, Pamela Rummage Culp and family, Steve and Liz Rummage and family.
Wayne will be buried in the family plot at Spring Hill Cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee on March 23, 2024, at 1 pm. A celebration of Wayne’s life will be held in Auburn, Alabama in June.
Please consider giving to the American Glaucoma Society and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in memory of Frank Wayne Ragland
Final arrangement for Mr. Ragland are entrusted to Spring Hill Funeral Home and Cemetery, 'Where Nashville Comes to Remember."
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