Travis R. Raven

Family-Placed Obituary

Coach Travis R. Raven, age 81, of Austin, passed away Tuesday, May 12, 2004. He was born and raised in Austin, Texas. He attended the Austin Public Schools, and was all state fullback his junior year at Austin High. In 1940, he was a member of the State Junior college Championship team at Schreiner Institute. He entered the University of Texas in 1941 and graduated in 1948 with three years in between in the US Air Force. While at UT, he played football and was on one conference championship team and two winning bowl teams. In 1967 and 1968 his Reagan team was selected as National Co-Champions with Coral Gables, Florida, and National High School Champions in 1970. On September 6, 1941, he married his high school sweetheart, Mildred Westling. Coach Raven coached for 26 years with several district championships, one State Baseball Championship, and won the 4A State Football Championship at Reagan High School in 1967, 1968, and 1970. He coached the 1969 High School All Star Team to a victory in the Cotton Bowl and he was chosen as the Texas High School Coach of the Year in 1969. He survived by his wife of 62 years, Mildred Mimi Raven of the family home in Austin; sons, Travis Jr. of Ingleside, TX and Terry of Kingsland, GA; a brother, Frank and wife, Brenda Raven of Galveston, TX; uncle, Wilson Raven and wife, Hazel Raven of Austin; granddaughters, Misty and husband, Gary Andrews, of San Antonio, and Cristy and husband, Ken Orvis of Ridgway, CO; great-granddaughter, Sarah; and two great-grandsons, Richard and Tracy, all of Ridgway, CO, and numerous nieces and nephews. The family will receive friends from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., Thursday, May 13, 2004, at Cook-Walden Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, May 14, 2004, at Gethsemane Lutheran Church, 200 West Anderson Lane with Pastor Karl Gronberg officiating. Interment will follow at Cook-Walden/Capital Parks Cemetery in Pflugerville. For those desiring, memorial contributions may be made in Coach Raven's honor to Gethsemane Lutheran Church, or the Alzheimers Association. Please join us in honoring Coach Raven by visiting our Memorial at www.mem.com.