April 7, 1929 — June 6, 2020
Levis Raymond “Racy” Sanford went home to be with the Lord, passing peacefully on, June 6, 2020, at The Cottages at Chandler Creek, Round Rock, Texas at the age of 91.
Racy is survived by his daughter Sheryl Anne (Norman) Champagne and their daughters Adena and Danielle (Braden) Armstrong and his son Mark Raymond (Laura) and his three children Katie, Kyle and Sarah. He is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Anne.
Racy was born on April 7, 1929, in Austin, Texas, to Alice Elizabeth Leifeste and Levis Riley Sanford. He graduated from Austin High School in 1947, where he was a member of the “Maroon” band. He went on to The University of Texas at Austin and Port Arthur College and obtained his radio/telephone license. He was drafted into the United States Army in 1950. He completed basic training at Camp Carson, Colorado and afterwards his unit, the 196th Regimental Combat Team, was sent to Fort Richardson, Alaska for the duration of the Korean Conflict. While serving in the army he became an amateur radio operator.
He went on to work at Channel 7 in Austin and was operating the station switcher when the station went live on air on Thanksgiving Day 1952 with the Texas vs. Texas A&M football game. He went on to work at KHOU-TV in Houston where his main assignment was at the transmitting facility, however he worked in the field most notably for NASA and though Hurricane Carla in 1961. He retired in 1994 after almost 40 years. He was an avid HAM radio operator and enthusiastically used the call sign W57ANQ.
In the spring of 1957 he met the love of his life, Anne Scrivner; they were married on November 29, 1957, at St. Paul’s Methodist Church in Houston. They welcomed their two children, Sheryl Anne in 1958 and Mark Raymond in 1960.
They raised their children in Houston and were active members of the church community where Racy worked on the “Plate Collection Committee” a position he inherited from his father in law Phil Scrivner. He had a love for Dachshund dogs and had several over the years including Heidi, Frieda and Fritzie.
Later in life, Racy moved to his family property in Bertram, Texas. This property was claimed from the State of Texas by his great grandfather John Thompson Sanford in the 1870s. He was passionate about genealogy and family history.
A funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. June 19 at Memorial Oaks Cemetery with a reception to follow. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Racy’s life.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to St Paul’s Church at 5501 Main St., Houston, TX 77004, stpaulshouston.org. The family would like to thank the caregivers at The Cottages at Chandler Creek for their extraordinary dedication and care.