Ray V. Waymire, police official
By RITA FARLOW
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 16, 2001
Ray V. Waymire, who rose through the ranks of the St. Petersburg Police Department to become director of police operations and director of crime prevention in the 1970s, died Saturday (July 14, 2001) at Vencor Hospital-Tampa after a long illness. He was 71.
Ray V. Waymire, who rose through the ranks of the St. Petersburg Police Department to become director of police operations and director of crime prevention in the 1970s, died Saturday (July 14, 2001) at Vencor Hospital-Tampa after a long illness. He was 71.
Born in Anderson, Ind., Mr. Waymire came to St. Petersburg in 1947 and was a 1948 graduate of St. Petersburg High School. A graduate of the FBI National Academy, he later earned a bachelor of science degree in criminology from the University of Tampa, and a master's degree in criminology from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale.
He joined the St. Petersburg Police Department in 1954 as a beat patrol officer. He was promoted to sergeant in 1962 and lieutenant in 1968.
During a career that spanned more than two decades with the department, Mr. Waymire served as the assistant administrator of public safety, the director of police operations and the director of the Office of Crime Prevention. He retired from active duty in August 1975, and ran unsuccessfully for Pinellas County sheriff the following year, losing to incumbent William Roberts.
While a police officer, he also was an adjunct professor at the University of South Florida and the New College of Florida, Sarasota. He was a guest columnist for the St. Petersburg Times, frequently contributing to "My Views."
In 1977, while working as a senior police management consultant for Westinghouse National Issues Center in Washington, D.C., Mr. Waymire was hired as the police chief of the Venice Police Department. He retired from that position in 1985.
He was a Marine Corps veteran of the Korean War and was a member of the Venice Yacht Club.
Survivors include his wife of 34 years, Patricia; a son, James, Florida; twin daughters Jacqueline Bonsall, Tampa, and Jennifer Denton, Chesapeake, Va.; two stepsons, William Durden, Reno, Nev., and David Durden, Gainesville; two sisters, Alice Barchie and Sue Hogan, both of St. Petersburg; and four grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Venice. The family suggests memorial contributions to the Police Pension Fund, 1350 Ridgewood Ave., Venice, Fla., 34292, or to a charity of one's choice.
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