Family will receive friends Saturday, December 28, 2024 at 10:30 a.m. until time of Memorial Service at 11:00 a.m. at the King Arts Complex, 835 Mt. Vernon Avenue, Columbus, OH 43203.

Raymond L. Humphrey was born on July 19, 1931 and passed on into the presence of Christ on Wednesday, December 4, 2024.

He was predeceased by his wife, Arthur Mae, his parents, Frank and Cura Humphrey, his ten siblings Heeman, Clifton, Gladys, Edna, Alice, Leroy, James, Lonnie Mae, Frank and Robert, and sons James and Raymond Humphrey. He is survived by daughter Theresa, son Conrad (Lynne), three grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren.

Raymond lived in Columbus, Ohio his entire life, graduating from East High School in 1949. It was there he met Arthur Mae Lewis and they married after high school. They raised four children, James, Raymond (Butch), Theresa (Mitzi) and Conrad in the Southfield community, having moved there in 1958 at the beginning of that housing development.

Raymond, aka “Mr. Baseball”, moved his family from the north end to Southfield in 1958, making the Humphreys among the first families to move into the new housing development where monthly payments were about $75 a month. He was 27 years old when he bought his first and only house.

Always a community and civil rights activist, Mr. Humphrey was among the founders of the Marion-Franklin Civic Association and was active for many years. His civil rights involvement includes applying pressure to the school board to resolve the racial strife issues at Marion-Franklin High School, leading to a turnover of some of the staff at the school.

But his most memorable legacy lies in the baseball program he started in Southfield. Raymond could have played in the Negro Leagues, but chose to remain in Columbus and raise his family. But he was a natural at it and was able recruit top players from throughout the city. Everyone wanted to play for Mr. Humphrey and it wasn’t unusual for him to be confronted by a parent who wanted to know why their son didn’t make the team.

His knowledge of baseball enabled him to coach youth summer league championship winning teams from 1959 through 1971, the pinnacle being the 1971 Southfield Saints team that went undefeated in 16 games. He also organized the Southfield Saints Baseball Clinics, attended by youth from around the city.

Although he loved baseball, and was a walking encyclopedia about the game, he played a major role in the lives of many of the young men who grew up in Southfield. To this day they tell me how Mr. Humphrey was a role model and mentor to them and some continued to seek his counsel until days before his death.

This being a model and mentor followed him into his latter years when he drew closer to the Lord and began teaching a Sunday School Class at Trinity Baptist Church and leading a Bible Study at Jenkins Terrace (which he referred to as “1100 East Broad”). He often spoke of the opportunities he had to pray for people on his mail routes, handing out tracts and encouraging them to trust in Christ.  He did this for many years, and continued this legacy of teaching the Bible and sharing Christ through his final days. He taught the Sunday morning sermons in the Assisted Living facility where he lived until a few months before his passing, encouraging, and praying for the other residents, being a light for those in their later years.

Family was very important to Raymond, organizing and helping to organize “Humphrey Family Reunions” every two years for several years beginning in 1976, with Columbus again hosting the event in 2017, an event he thoroughly enjoyed. He drew the family tree on huge sheets of paper, and kept in contact with family members in Alabama, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, California, Texas, Kentucky, Washington D.C., and other states.

Raymond’s life was filled with love of family, love of friends and love of Christ. He will be missed.