Wincel Ely Raborn Jr. ("Dub") lived a life that many only dream of—and some only ever see in movies.

He was born in South Mississippi, near the Louisiana line, in the small town of Progress, where he grew up working on the family farm. When it came time for high school, his father's job with the Illinois Central Railroad—working the famed train The City of New Orleans—led the family to McComb, where Dub graduated high school.

Dub attended Mississippi State University, where he met the love of his life, Marjorie Ruth Crumpton. They were married on May 28, 1960, beginning a partnership that would span 65 remarkable years.

While attending Mississippi State University, on summer breaks Dub would board a train and head west to Montana, where he worked for the U.S. Forest Service. While working on a trail one day, he met a group of firefighters hiking out after battling a blaze. It was then that he first learned about Smokejumpers. With a letter of recommendation from his supervisor, Dub was accepted the following year and went on to serve as a Smokejumper from 1959 to 1964, until he broke his back during a jump on a fire.

The stories from his Smokejumper years were legendary—so much so that others believed they belonged on the big screen. Walt Disney filmed the movie A Fire Called Jeremiah, following his fire crew for a summer. In at least one scene, Dub can be seen jumping from the plane. His family often said an entire book could be written just from those years and the adventures he and Marjorie shared out West.

After leaving the Forest Service, Dub and his family moved to Alabama, where he became part of another pivotal chapter in American history. He served in the Alabama National Guard during a time of significant civil unrest and was federalized twice—once for the desegregation of the University of Alabama and again during the Selma March. Years later, the Pentagon contacted and interviewed him for National Guard Magazine, as he was the last living guardsman they could find who had participated in those events. When asked what it was like protecting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Dub recalled standing near the steps as Dr. King spoke, saying all he could focus on was the anger in the crowd.

Dub later moved to Kentucky, where he worked as a social worker, then to Knoxville, Tennessee, where he joined Travelers Insurance. That position eventually relocated him to Nashville. In 1970, the family moved to Smyrna, and in 1973, Dub left Travelers to found Raborn Insurance Agency, which became another lasting part of his legacy.

Outside of family, Dub's greatest passion was the outdoors. From his boyhood in South Mississippi, to his days as a Montana Smokejumper, to decades of canoeing the Quetico Provincial Park and Boundary Waters in Canada, he found peace in nature. He was an avid fisherman and hunter and often said, "The woods is my church."

Throughout his life, Dub was a respected community leader, a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, and a man who never stopped seeking adventure. He once said the key to happiness was that when one adventure ends, you should begin planning the next—so you always have something to look forward to.

W.E. Raborn Jr. truly did it all. The legacy he leaves behind for his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren will endure for generations.

Dub is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, Marjorie Ruth Crumpton Raborn; his sons Derek Charles Raborn (Cary), Gregory Doy Raborn (Susan), and Baker Ely Raborn (Rhonda); grandchildren, Margeaux Gabrielle "Gabby" Raborn, Lauren Kate Raborn Dalton (Ryan Dalton), Zane Raborn (Autumn), Megan Adeline "Addie" Raborn Allen (Alex Allen), Seth Ely Raborn (Kelsie), and Sarah Katherine Raborn DeBerry (Alex DeBerry); great-grandchildren, Emma Kate Dalton, Ely Nash Dalton, Theodore "Teddy" Raborn, Vivian Gayle Raborn, Gracelynn May Allen, Ruby Annette DeBerry, and Ruth Pearl Allen; and sisters, Doris Emily Raborn Verucchi and Sandra Dayle Raborn Felder.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Doris and W.E. Raborn, Sr.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to Smyrna Senior Activity Center, Mid Cumberland Meals on Wheels, or a charity of your choice.