Media Contact: Logan Wright
(316) 477-0543 | logan.wright@redcross.org
 

[WICHITA, KAN. – Feb 15, 2024] – Raymond Grier usually he brings black walnuts or pecans for his friends at the Red Cross Wichita Blood Donation Center. At his frequent donation appointments, he is famous for his blackened fingertips from picking and shelling them for sharing with many of the people he meets. But at his last donation earlier this month, he gifted a small chocolate bar to Betty Coonrod, a Red Cross staffer who was a phlebotomist when Grier started coming to the Wichita Blood Donor Center.

“I’ve been at the center nine years and every time he donates, he calls,”Coonrod said. “I come down [to the donor center] while he donates. He’s quick – it only takes like five minutes. He asks about my kids and grandkids.”

“Betty took my blood for three or four years, ”said Grier.“ My uncle got me into it early. His boss called him up once and said ‘send some men down here’ to a blood drive when I lived in Mt. Hope. I’ve lived in Wichita 52 years and kept donating here.”

Grier turned 97 this month. His health and the wishes of his children are the primary reasons to end his donation career. The frequent joker asked every phlebotomist and other donor their opinions on the Chiefs, saying he was excited about the Super Bowl. He is a WWII veteran and sometimes sees other donors from the services. His late wife’s name was Betty, which he reminds Coonrod about frequently.

“I found my husband while I was working in the donor center. We started dating when I moved to education. Mr. Grier just knew. He was very happy for us, ”said Coonrod.

Phlebotomists and donors gathered in the recovery room of the blood donation center and celebrated after his donation with cake, cookies, cupcakes, and balloons.

Grier has very simple words of wisdom for other Wichitans: “Go donate! It doesn’t hurt! It takes five minutes!”