My Grandpa Ray Marshall

My paternal grandfather Ray Marshall was an incredibly calm, sweet man. In all my memories of him, he's calmly doing something for me - spreading icing on a toaster pastry for me, fixing my bike tire - always with utter mellow-ness, and always, always with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. I actually liked the smoky smell that always permeated him - the only person whom I can say that about!

Grandpa was a total salt-of-the-earth guy, grew up on a Kansas farm and knew how to work hard. He went on to work for decades at Braniff Airlines, and Braniff was the total center of the universe for him and Grandma. At 95, Grandma still talks about all the gardening clubs and card games that were formed with her fellow Braniff brides. Working for an airline allowed Grandma and Grandpa to travel more than the average couple during the 1950s and '60s. I loved hearing their stories about South America, Hawaii and beyond.

This photo from 1951 shows Ray with some Braniff colleagues...that must be an important document! Even though this was taken 20 years before I was born, this is exactly how I remember Grandpa - wearing a shirt and tie, totally patient and unflappable, and probably plotting his next smoke. He's been gone for almost 20 years now, but I can still smell his sweet smoky-ness.

Thanks to the internet, Braniff is able to honor its former employees. Click here to read the bio that my Grandma Vada wrote about Grandpa.

It's a great place to check out the airline's history too - this is one of the airplanes painted in a design by Alexander Calder. Groovy!