John Raymond bio

John Samuel Raymond, 66, was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Samuel and Bernice Raymond. His mother died shortly after his birth, and John grew up an only child. His father never remarried, but he brought many women home over the years, usually just for the evening.

Samuel Raymond came from a long line of shrimpers. He wasn't an educated man, but he knew the shrimping business, and he was ambitious. When Samuel took over the company from his father, he started expanding, contacting restaurants and small grocers all over the Gulf Coast region.

John spent a lot of time on the boat with his father throughout his childhood. Never a very good student, John dropped out of school when he was 14 and started working side by side with his father full time.

When John was in his 20s, his father started sending him out on deliveries a few times a week so he could get experience in other areas of the family business. By then, Raymond's Gulf Coast Shrimp had contracts for daily deliveries of fresh shrimp for nearby customers and many more as far north as Tupelo, Oxford, and Memphis. John joined the ranks of the other delivery drivers to meet the growing needs of their customers.

John's favorite was the Memphis run because he loved the city and meeting people, especially women, in Memphis and all the stops along the way in Mississippi.

John has followed in his father's footsteps in work and in love. He's enjoyed the company of many women over the years, both in Baton Rouge and along his regular delivery routes, but he's never married or even had a long-term relationship.