Raymond Michael Tinnian
TINNIAN, FAIRENCRUG, MICHEAU, WISNOSKI, KASKE, BAUM, WATSON
Posted By: Sarah Fletcher (email)
Date: 6/23/2020 at 15:04:12
If you had a chance to sit with Raymond Michael Tinnian and talk and you didn’t take that chance you missed out on a good thing. Get him talking history, science, law, or politics and you were in for a ride. His sharp mind, hasty wit, and wry sense of humor made for a fast-paced romp through the topic.
Raymond moved through life gathering information with each experience and career. Living as a rambling man, shovel bum archaeologist, becoming an historical archaeologist at the Office of the State Archaeologist of Iowa [OSA], attending the University of Iowa, and practicing law. With each step taking a deep intellectual dive into that world. His brain was no gadfly, but it was interested in a vast range of subjects. It was easily engaged when presented with complicated issues.
Raymond’s hobbies also reflected this lifestyle. Proving that “Citizen Scientists” are not a thing of the past, he dove headlong into Astronomy. Often friends would be invited to join him in very dark places on very cold nights when the stars were at their best. His intricate and elaborate model making of various aircraft and space craft was another outlet. Did he know the complete history of each model, of course he did. Geology and camping were more opportunities to explore and discover.
Writing seemed to come naturally. All his writing was fun to read whether collaborating on pieces for the Wapsipinicon Almanac, historical pieces, or scientific articles. He was able to make dry subjects interesting and light subjects educational with equal ease. His article on the Rainsbargers of Steamboat Rock, Iowa, in which he solved an historical mystery, is available here: https://ir.uiowa.edu/palimpsest/vol73/iss3/4/
Starting in Davenport, February 10, 1960, he was the second of five children and the eldest son. As Katherine Hepburn, playing Eleanor of Aquitaine, said in A Lion in Winter, “What family doesn’t have its ups and downs”. His parents Ray and Beth eventually divorced, and Beth remarried Don Fairencrug, but Raymond had already spread his wings and flown the nest. Soon he found his travels taking him throughout Central and North America odd jobbing, riding rails, and finally following the archaeology.
That trail landed him in Iowa City and at the OSA where he put down deep roots. He made strong friendships and lasting relationships with a wide variety of people. Not being a traditional “tall, dark, handsome” sort he never-the-less was a debonair rascal of exceptional charm. Raymond had extraordinarily good taste in women, and he won the hearts of the smartest and most beautiful.
Just as he began law school, he met Suzanne Micheau. They married, and year later they greeted Valerie Linnea on August 20th, 2002. They moved into a little bungalow in Kalona IA in 2003 and Ray put out his shingle and started his lawyering life. Ray and Suzanne later divorced in 2008 but successfully co-parented through the years.
Gracie Elizabeth and Anne Elizabeth Wisnoski, Ray’s daughters with Liz Wisnoski, were born on January 8, 2007. Heartbreaking news came when Anne didn’t survive until birth. Gracie and Valerie are good friends and spend time together when possible. Raymond was father to his daughters as only a man like Raymond could be. Valerie and Gracie are both remarkable young women.
Raymond Tinnian’s life, like so many things in our lives this past season, was cut short suddenly from an undiagnosed cancer on Friday, June 19, 2020. He was 60 years old.
He is survived by his daughters Valerie and Gracie. His surviving family members are: Laurie (Jay) Kaske of Davenport, Sandi (Bob) Tinnian Warner of Muscatine, Jason Tinnian of Astoria, OR, and his nephews Brian and Alex Kaske. The women who loved him are – in chronological order – Amy Baum of Iowa City, his wife Suzanne Micheau of Johnson County, Liz Wisnoski of Iowa City, and Kristen Watson (he was her soulmate) of Coralville.
He was preceded in death by his daughter Anne, his parents, his brother James Sr., and his nephew James Jr.
Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
Johnson Obituaries maintained by Cindy Booth Maher.
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