Raymond Joseph Watkins, 89, passed away on the 7^th September, 2016 at Houston Methodist Saint John’s Hospital. He was born on 8 December, 1926 in Galveston to Albert Watkins and Josephine Covini Watkins. Ray is survived by his sister-in-law Emily MacDonald; his nieces and nephews Diane Smith Grimes, Tracy Smith Vick, Kevin MacDonald, Rick Oberndorfer and Derek Oberndorfer, Carol Ann Smith Suffel, Jimmy Smith; and numerous great nephews and nieces. In 1944 he joined the US Navy and trained as a radioman/gunner aboard PBM Mariner float planes, seeing service in the Marshall Islands at the end of the Second World War. He married his late wife Betty Oberndorfer of Galveston in 1947, and remained a close member of her extended family throughout his life. In the 1950s he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Houston. Ray – known to family and friends as ‘Snookie’ or ‘Noonie’, worked for Tenneco in Houston, retiring in 1989.  He had a passion for Big Band music and Dixieland Jazz, having led his ROTC band as a saxophonist in his youth. Visitation will be held on Friday, September, 16, 2016 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Crowder Funeral Home, Webster, TX. Memorial Services will follow on Saturday, September 17, 2016 at 3:00 PM at Clear Lake United Methodist Church, 16335 El Camino Real, Houston, TX. A private family burial with Military Honors will be held at Forest Park Lawndale, Houston, TX. In lieu of flowers those wishing to make a memorial donation in Raymond and Betty Watkin’s memory may do so to the Clear Lake United Methodist Church, 16335 El Camino Real, Houston, TX 77062.