James Lee "Jim" Rayl

1942 - 2023

James "Jim" Lee Rayl

May 13, 1942 - May 23, 2023

  James "Jim" Lee Rayl, from Broken Arrow, passed away on May 23, 2023, 10 days after his 81st birthday.

  Jim was born to Harold Lee and Mary Susan (Hooton) Rayl in Steubenville, Ohio, on May 13, 1942. He graduated from Steubenville High School, and attended many, if not all of his reunions throughout the years.

  After high school, Jim originally went to work for a bank in Washington, D.C., where he met and eventually married Bonnie Beatrice Pack (now deceased), and started a new job that became a career with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, (aka MetLife) where he worked for over 40 years before his retirement. There, he started out as an auditor in Cleveland, Ohio, where his two children (Brian and Cyndi) were born, and eventually worked his way up the corporate ladder, establishing the first customer service call center in the entire company here in Tulsa, and later became the Director of Procedural Development for the company. During his career at MetLife, he made many, many close friends who became lifelong confidants.

  Outside of work and later in life, he developed a passion for cooking, and hosted Sunday Night dinners at his house for his children and grandchildren regularly. His brother-in-law, Norman Gritton finally influenced his passion for Pittsburgh Steeler football, and he also became an Oklahoma Sooner fan after his son attended the school in the 80s. His deepest passion however, was undoubtedly his love for his dogs. Those that predeceased him will be laid to rest with him, as their remains have been on his mantle awaiting their reunion. While not really on social media, he did enjoy stalking his children on Facebook under his pseudonym "Mortimer Snerd."

  He is survived by his children, James "Brian" Rayl (Jennifer) and Cynthia "Cyndi" Renee Adams; and all of their children, Alex, Ashlee, Nicholas, Nicole, Nathan, Taylor, David and Zachary; along with many nieces and nephews including Doug Gritton (Donna), Linda Kanary (Dale), Laura Bucknam (Mike), Mary Beth, Jan, Karen and Leslie; and many more from the Pack family In Kentucky. He is also survived by his close family friend, Sheila Richardson.

  He was preceded in death by his parents; ex-wife, Bonnie; his sister, Barbara (and her husband, Norman) Gritton; and his brother, Albert Rayl.

  In lieu of flowers, he would ABSOLUTELY demand that you help those that help animals by donating to your favorite animal charity, the Tulsa SPCA, or Skiatook Paws and Claws animal rescue.