Phil K. Ragland

Phil Ragland, radio voice of the Snyder Tigers for more than
20 years, died Monday, Feb. 28, in Cogdell Memorial Hospital.

Service for Mr. Ragland, 85, is set for 10 a.m. Thursday in
Colonial Hill Baptist Church with Dr. Tommy Culwell, pastor,
officiating. Interment will follow in Hillside Memorial
Gardens and arrangements are under the direction of Bell-
Cypert-Seale Funeral Home.

Born Feb. 23, 1926 in Dallas to the late Oscar Graham and Ida
Viola (Shelton) Ragland, he was a 1943 graduate of Lubbock
High School and attended Texas Tech University where he
played basketball under the legendary Polk Robinson. A U.S. Air
Force veteran, Mr. Ragland returned to Lubbock and got his first taste of professional baseball by attending spring training in Georgia and playing in the Florida State League for the Palatka Azaleas. He also played for the Lubbock
Hubbers, Odessa Oilers and for minor league clubs in Tyler,
Marshall and Miami, Okla.

He married Vivian Maxine Boone on Nov. 27, 1946 in Lubbock.
He worked for Rip Griffin Truck Center in Lubbock before
moving to Snyder in 1966 to open the Rip Griffin location at
U.S. 180 and U.S. 84. After 21 years with Rip Griffin,
Mr. Ragland"s love for sports motivated him to apply to
become manager of the Scurry County Coliseum, a position he
held for 71/2 years. While at the coliseum, Mr. Ragland discovered another passion - play-by-play announcing of athletic events for KSNY Radio and Z-TV, part of those 20 years announcing with a son, Shawn Ragland. He also was manager of Snyder Athletic
Center for two years. Mr. Ragland was inducted
into the SHS Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006. A member of the
Colonial Hill Baptist Church, Mr. Ragland also was a 32nd
Degree Mason and a Shriner. He also was preceded in death
by two granddaughters, Tiffany Shay Ragland and Kelsey Leigh
Ragland.

Survivors include his wife, Maxine Ragland of Snyder;
three sons and daughters-in-law,
Shawn and Teresa Ragland ofSnyder,
Kenny and Barbara Ragland of Houston
Kelly and Donna Ragland of Hobbs, N.M.;
a daughter and son-inlaw,
Sherry and Alton Patterson of Snyder;
a sister, Jan Baxter of Lubbock;
a niece, Carole Baxter of Lubbock;
a nephew, Rex Baxter of Ruidoso, N.M.;
eight grandchildren;
10 greatgrandchildren.

Visitation will be from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral