Raymond Alfred Lytle Jr. was born to Margaret Estelle Burgess Lytle and Raymond Alfred Lytle Sr. on October 18th, 1945 in Charlottesville, VA. His mother was a first grade school teacher and his father a professor of mathematics. He grew up surrounded by love and family. He was the oldest of four children. While his father worked on his doctorate, Ray spent four years in Athens, GA before they moved back to Columbia. When Ray was 10, they moved into a house that would let him walk out the back gate to high school. 

Summers of the Lytle family were spent at the beloved beach house in North Myrtle Beach, SC. Ray worked on the beach selling ice cream out of a cart up and down Crescent Beach. He also also worked in the meat department of the Piggly Wiggly (affectionately called the Hoggly Woggly). In college, he served as President and Vice President of the Pi Mu Epsilon chapter of the National Mathematics Honor society. 

Ray met Janis Ann Powell, the love of his life, after he gave her a ride back to a dorm after a Fellowship after church. While they were dating, Ray interviewed with Western Electric in Nov 1967, a few months before he received his draft notice. He deferred service until the completion of his degree in May, then joined the delay program which allowed him to start work in the summer of 1967. He proposed to Janis in July 1968 at a seafood restaurant in Colubmia and she said yes and admired the ring all evening. Ray started Basic Training in September 1968 at Fort Jackson. He and Janis got married in December 1968 while Ray was on break from Army training.

Ray’s army career had him stationed in New Jersey, Vietnam, Virginia and Germany. While in Vietnam, Janis lived at home with her parents and after Ray’s tour, Janis and Ray spent several months living in Germany. They would take trips to the Alps and Italy.

Janis had two children, Lara and John, and took a few years off of work while they were born. She then took a job working at Northside Hospital in Atlanta. She went on to get her Masters in Nursing from Emory University while taking care of her mother who had Alzheimer's.

After the kids were grown and Ray retired, Janis continued to work using her expertise in nursing to evaluate hospitals and nursing care facilities for the Joint Commission. This gave Janis and Ray the opportunity to travel throughout the Southeast, making friends along the way. Janis and Ray enjoyed cruising, including trips to Oregon and Alaska.

Ray is survived by his 2 sisters, Mary and Cynthia, his brother Ricky; her daughter Lara and her husband Daniel; her son John and his wife Melissa; and her four beloved grandchildren Caitlin Nikki, Phoenix and Ashlynn as well as many nieces, nephews and dear friends.