Dr.James Frederick Ragin

Dr. James Frederick Ragin (Freddie)
Dr. James F. Ragin was born in Houston County, Middle Georgia on September 26th, 1926, to James Arthur and Lillian Toomer Ragin. Freddie was the eldest of eight children: Herman Cicero, Lillian Zerilda, Ernestine Rounette, Alvin L., Frances Yvonne, Melvin Douglas, and Patricia Ann. As a husband, father, grandfather, great grand father, life long educator, athlete, coach and world traveler, Freddie is leaving behind an extraordinary legacy.
Dr Ragin earned a B.S. in biology at Johnson C. Smith University, an A.Y.I. certificate in science curriculum development at Harvard University, and an M.S. in physiology and developmental biology at Texas Southern University. He would then teach high school biology at Jack Yates High School in Houston, Texas. Wanting to further excel academically he enrolled at Colorado State University where he received a Ph.D. in Genetics. Among many of his accomplishments Ragin was listed in Who's Who in American Men and Women of Science, Who's Who in The Dictionary of International Biography, and Who's Who in Colorado. He began teaching at Colorado State University receiving an Outstanding Teacher Award in 1978, and received among others, three different National Science Foundation Fellowships for Scientific Study. He was a member of Beta Beta Beta, the honorary society of the biological sciences, and Sigma Xi, the national scientific honor society.
Dr Ragin would be promoted to Assistant Dean and later Acting Dean of the Graduate School and Associate Professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University. As a writer and tester for a biological sciences curriculum study at the University of Colorado he developed high school textbooks and laboratory material, he coauthored three texts which have been translated into nine languages and used worldwide. He served as a consultant in Botswana, Egypt, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Tanzania, Swaziland and Zambia, and spent a few years developing higher education curricula in East Pakistan (Bangladesh), and Ethiopia.
In 1980 Dr Ragin moved to Salisbury, Maryland to teach at The University of Maryland Eastern Shore developing science curriculum for the university. Two years in, in 1982, Ragin joined the United States Agency for International Develop (USAID) at which time he would relocate to Zambia appointed as Chief of Party for the Zambia Agricultural Research and Extension Project in which he led nine PhD subordinates, all specialists in their fields of agriculture. After a successful (USAID) contract in Zambia he would return to UMES in 1986 to complete his tenure as appointed Acting Vice Chancellor. In 1987, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations offered Dr Ragin a position as Advisor to the Department of Agriculture based in Lusaka, Zambia.There he served a three year contract ending in 1990. At 64 years of age, Dr. Ragin decided to explore various African business adventures. He built apartments catering primarily to United Nations (UN) employees, got into the transport business, opened a label printing shop, started a butchery, and even dabbled in emerald mining. Although each endeavor, not as successful or sustainable as he had wished, Dr. Ragin poured his heart into everything he did.
In 2005, Dr. Ragin relocated to the USA to engage in his true passion, education. At the ripe age of 79, Dr. Ragin joined Fort Valley State University (FVSU) as a substitute professor in the Biology Department. He would teach for seven years to (2012) then retire at 86 years of age. Thereafter, he would spend winter months in Africa and the summer months in the USA. Dr. Ragin's last trek from the US to Africa would be at age 93 in 2019, just before the COVID 19 pandemic, after which he was deemed too old to travel. He would reside in Zambia until his demise. During the last two years of life, he would call out in his sleep, "Herman wait for me, please wait for me". After his brother's passing, he would often have conversations with Herman, his mother and father, Gloria and Alvin.
He was preceded in death by parents, James Arthur and Lillian Toomer Ragin; brothers Alvin L Ragin and Herman Cicero Ragin (Gloria Mason), and first wife Gloria Christine Richter Ragin.
He is survived by his siblings Lillian Zerilda Palmer (Warren-deceased), Ernestine Rounette Tabor (Alva-deceased), Frances Yvonne Rush (Michael), Melvin Douglas Ragin (Gloria), and Patricia Anne Lee; son Hugh Frederick Ragin (Marlena-deceased), Daughter Cheryl Denise Pumphrey (Clifford), son David Anthony Ragin (Jacqui), second wife Amina Moosa Dodia Ragin, step son Michael Spencer Morrell, and step daughters Candy Marilyn Morrell, Michelle Morrell, grandchildren, great grandchildren and other beloved family and friends.