Raymond P. Gray, 94, a longtime resident of Columbia, passed away on Saturday, January 21, 2017, just a couple days shy of his 95th birthday. He is survived by his wife of many, many years, Hazel; a son, Bill, daughter in law, Valerie, and his grandchildren, Olivia and Noah, all of Atlanta, GA.; a brother Henry, and his wife Chris of Texas, and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his beloved daughter, Kathleen. Ray was born in New Britain, CT, to the late William and Olga (Malagoli) Gray. Growing up during the Great Depression, Ray came to the Windham area in the late 1930?s to join the Civilian Conservation Corps., (CCC). It was here that he met Hazel Maynard, who soon after became his wife, marrying a few short weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor and Ray?s joining of the army. Upon returning home from the war, (?the happy journey home aboard the Queen Mary?), Ray started work as a carpenter, joining the local United Brotherhood of Carpenters Union. He worked on varied local construction projects in Hartford and Central/Eastern CT, including many of the Hartford high-rises and the building spurt at the UConn Storrs campus during 1950?s, 60? and 70?s. He was a longtime gold member of the VFW, as well as belonging to the American Legion and several other local social clubs. An accomplished all-around athlete and lifelong sports fan, Ray participated on many local sports teams and leagues, most notably as a pitcher in fast pitch softball in the ?50s and ?60s. Ray was among the many brave souls who made the early morning landings at Omaha Beach on June 6th, 1944, and was one of the lucky ones that survived. After the D-Day invasion, Ray fought in Normandy, Northern France and into Germany under Patten?s 3rd Army/29th division as an expert rifleman/infantry soldier. He was wounded twice, receiving the Purple Heart along with other commendations, earning the rank of Sergeant. In an interview with Ray by the Chronicle in 1983 on the 40 year anniversary of the Normandy landing during World War II it was noted that Ray didn?t yet have grandchildren, but if he did, he?s not sure he?d bounce them on his knee and tell them about his experiences on Omaha Beach. ?It was rough, I lost a lot of buddies?, was his common response to questions. Happily, in the 32 years since then, Ray did in fact get to have, and enjoy some time with, his two grand- kids, although he did keep true to his word about knee bouncing and the lack of telling them old war stories. In truth, he much preferred playing Santa Clause. Ray?s family will receive relatives and friends from 10:00am to 11:00am on Friday January 27, 2017 at Potter Funeral Home, 456 Jackson St. (Rte. 195) Willimantic. His funeral service will begin at 11:00am at the funeral home, with burial to follow at North Windham Cemetery, North Windham. For an online memorial guestbook please visit
www.potterfuneralhome.com
.