Dustin Coy Raines

September 11, 1981 - December 14, 2020

Dustin Coy Raines, beloved husband, father, mentor, and friend took his last earthly breath on December 14, 2020 at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Desoto County due to complications from COVID-19. Dut was born September 11, 1981 in Memphis, Tennessee to the late Diane “Beth” and Ronald Raines. Though his family moved around regularly, he graduated from Marshall Academy in Byhalia, Mississippi in 1999 and then studied to become an EMT at Northwest Community College. Dustin was proud to have served as a firefighter in Walls, Horn Lake and Olive Branch. He was certified in water rescue and became a part of the rescue squad with the fire department. His fire chief described him as a hard worker, a good friend, and a funny guy that brightened up a room. In February of 2020, he began serving as a correctional officer with the Collierville Police Department. He was a hero, unafraid to risk it all for his community. He was strong, known as “Superman” to his friends and “the Hulk” to the nurses that cared for him his last weeks of his life. Dustin was, also, known for the way he cared for those in his community. Without a second thought, he gave selflessly to those in need. He, also, spent his life mentoring youth, especially as a coach in many sports including football and basketball. He loved the students at Lake Cormorant High School as though they were his own. His immense love for sports filled his life with joy even having a time as a semi-pro football player. His sports intelligence astounded friends, memorizing every fact he read about sports. He loved to play softball, flag football, and basketball in his spare time. Nothing, though, mattered more to Dut than his 3 precious children and his beautiful wife. He worked hard to provide for them picking up extra shifts and working long hours without complaint. He was their number one fan, cheering them on at each of their endeavors. He, also, became a father to many of his kids’ friends and teammates, and many, many youth depended on him. Dustin had a charismatic and magnetic personality. He was selfless and courageous, his strength was tempered with gentleness, his kindness mixed with sarcasm, and his intelligence combined with his work ethic to make him a true Superman to all who knew him. Dustin is survived by his wife, Leah, his 3 children, Dalton (16), Hannah (13) and Gage (12), his bonus parents, Guy and Melita Wilbanks, siblings, Judson Adams, Keshia Langston, Randi Hart, Kelly Hart, and Kelly Raines, bonus siblings Dustin and Marla Wilbanks, his aunt, Holly Murner, cousins Sam Nicki Presler and Ben Presler, and many other beloved cousins, his in-laws, Jamie and Kevin Doyle, Jessy Fowler, and Kristi Bramblett. Dut also had many friends, too many to list them all, such as Cory Adams, who he considered family. Because of COVID, Dustin’s family will have a private memorial service at Riverbend Church in Hernando, Mississippi with a public memorial at a future date. In lieu of flowers, we are asking for donations on behalf of his children on the family’s PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/leahraines1