Douglas Raine

Douglas "Doug" Raine, Great Lakes sailor, Air Force fighter pilot, educator, scout leader, and wood carver passed away on July 9, 2025 at the age of 96.  Doug was preceded in death by his brothers Malcolm and Alan and his sister Janet.  He is survived by his wife Bobbie May, his sister Geraldine, his children Rob and Lynn (Jay), his grandchildren Alesha Farrell (Sean), Alex Guyot (Molly), Sean and Katelyn Raine, and his great granddaughter Autumn Farrell.

 

Doug was born in Detroit, Michigan on September 24, 1928, just one year before the start of the Great Depression.  His family moved to a farm in nearby Romulus, Michigan in October 1941, just months before the U.S. entry into WWII.  He attended elementary and high school in Wyandotte, Michigan.

 

As a young teen, Doug raised chickens on the family farm.  Not subject to wartime rationing, Doug's fresh eggs and chicken were welcome provender for family and friends as well as a significant source of income for Doug.

 

At sixteen Doug took a job as a deck hand on a Great Lakes freighter, the SS Huron.  Among other things, his job involved moving 273 oak hatch covers weighing more than 200 lbs, each time the ship entered and left port to load or deliver tons of coal or limestone..

 

Graduating from Oberlin College in the spring of 1951 with the Korean War in progress, Doug elected to serve in the then three-year old U.S. Air Force rather than await draft into the Army.  After basic training at Sampson AFB, New York, he was selected for the air cadets program.  He attended flight school in Bainbridge Georgia, followed by jet school at Bryan AFB, Texas where he was commissioned a second lieutenant.  He then reported to gunnery school at Pinecastle AFB, Florida where the cockpit of the F-80 "Shooting Star" in which he trained was so small he sat with his knees against the instrument panel and pushed the rudder pedals with the sides of his feet.  Doug said he blacked out after almost every dive.

 

In January 1953 Doug reported to the 430th Fighter Bomber Squadron based at Kunsan and later at Taegu, South Korea.  Between March and July 1953 Doug flew 57 combat missions in the F-84 Thunderjet.  A distant ancestor of the A-10, F-84s accounted for 60-percent of all ground targets destroyed during the Korean War.  For his Korean War service, Doug received the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross.  Following the end of the Korean War, one of Doug's squadron mates, upon hearing of Doug's pending assignment as an instructor pilot at Luke AFB, suggested Doug look up this "cute little number" named Bobbie, a school-teacher in Phoenix.  Doug scribbled her name and number in his address book along with the notation "girl."  Then about March 1954, when a buddy could not find a date, Doug suggested maybe a double date with this "Bobbie" girl.  One date led to another, and a third and on that one he asked her to marry him.  She said "maybe" and on August 14, 1954 they were married in Bobbie's hometown, Ajo, Arizona.  They were married for almost 71 years.

 

When his Air Force service ended, Doug joined a heavy-equipment firm in New York City.  Although accomplished at finding solutions to the needs for large engines internationally, sales were not Doug's bag.

Moving to Tucson, Arizona Doug earned masters and eventually doctoral degrees in education.  He joined Amphitheater Public School District first as a fifth-grade teacher and in 1962 as the principal at F.O. Holaway Elementary School. In 1972 Doug moved to the then Canyon Del Oro Junior High School.  During the next two years, Doug served as the building principal, working with the architect and contractors during the construction of the L.W. Cross Junior High School (now Middle School).  When Cross opened, Doug remained principal until his retirement in the mid 1980s.

 

Beginning in 1965 Doug became a committee member with first Cub Scout Pack 211 and later Boy Scout Troop 211.  Doug accompanied the troop on numerous campouts and hikes.  He hiked most of the trails in the Grand Canyon including Havasupai, Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim, Hermit Trail and Rainbow Bridge.  He hiked the Gila Wilderness, and with Bobbie hiked many of the California routes that make up the John Muir Trail.  He twice led scouts to the Charles L. Sommers Wilderness Canoe Base in Minnesota, canoeing and hiking into Canada and back.  Doug earned numerous "50-Miler" patches with the scouts.  Catalina Council awarded him the prestigious Silver Beaver medallion which recognizes registered scouters of exceptional character who have provided distinguished service within a council. 

 

Doug was also long-time member of Saguaro Rotary Club in Tucson.

 

Doug retired from Amphitheater in the mid-1980s.  After retiring he resumed woodcarving, a hobby he had enjoyed as a young boy.  Doug joined Southwest Woodcarvers and over the years many of his carvings earned him blue, red and white ribbons.  In 1993 the Caricature Carvers of America invited him to join their group.  In 1997 he built his dream shop where he and fellow carvers carved, drank coffee, ate home-made pastries, and told tall tales until the week before he passed away.

 

In the last few years Doug and Bobbie have enjoyed their weekly breakfast at the First Watch Restaurant and dinner celebrations at Café Torino in Oro Valley. Spending precious time with family and friends was always a highlight.

 

Doug will be deeply missed.  A celebration of life service for him will be held, Saturday, August 9 at 1:00 p.m. at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church at the northeast corner of Chapala Drive and Paseo del Norte.

 

Doug has always worked with and supported middle and high school students.  He thought highly of his grand son-in-law’s ministry with youth.

 

For those wishing to remember Doug in a special way, donations may be made to the youth ministry at Northminster Presbyterian Church.

 

To donate: open the link below; go to the drop down menu and select “In Memory of Doug Raine”.

 

https://onrealm.org/npctucson/-/form/give/now