Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death.
Steve Rayburn passed away on Sept. 13, 2022, in Waco, Texas. Steve was born on June 16, 1946, in Hood River, Ore.
He lived in Hood River, Dallas, Texas, Lubbok, Texas, Spokane, Wash., Portland, Ore., Seattle, Wash., Los Angeles, Calif., and most recently in Waco.
He attended Birmingham High School in Encino, Calif. Shortly after high school, Steve entered active duty and served 25 years in the Navy and a medic for the Marines in Viet Nam. He was based out of San Diego and fought in the Viet Nam War. His tours took him around the world to Japan, Bahrain, South America and Hawaii. He loved his role in Special Ops, never knowing until he got there what he would be asked to do. He had amazing stories about his time in service and did everything from learning how to set up and run a post office in Whidbey Island, Wash., to participating in "undisclosed location" missions, vectoring planes onto the ships and was the head of a Night Crew in close combat. His most favorite team was Marines Medic and often said, “They were the best bunch of people ever.” Throughout his life, he excelled and loved photography, collecting a wide range of antiques from fine china to guns.
Steve loved his family and lived a “really good life” and “always tried to do good in the world.” He loved that we (his family) could pick up right where we left off and loved that he never laughed as hard as with his cousins remembering crazy time’s we shared as kids Hood River, where our parents grew up. He also deeply loved his "chosen" daughter, Katrina, and grandkids.
He was a descendent of Captain FM Jackson and John Henry Gerdes, early settlers in Hood River. Steve’s urn will be laid to rest at Mountain View Memorial Cemetery of Hood River, where his Gerdes family is buried.
Preceded in death by his father William S. Rayburn, he is survived by his mother Jeanne Rayburn of San Diego, Calif.; brother, Tim Rayburn of Seattle; and nephew, Joshua Rayburn of Long Beach, Calif. Steve was greatly loved by all of his Seattle, Portland and Hood River cousins and Aunt Jackelyn Kiemele of Seattle.
A memorial service will be held at Anderson’s Tribute Center, 1401 Belmont Avenue, Hood River, at 2 p.m. on April 22. Visit www.AndersonsTributeCenter.com to leave a note of condolence for the family.
To plant a tree in memory of Steve Rayburn as a living tribute, please visit Tribute Store.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.