Obituary of Raymond R. Evans, Jr.
Raymond R. Evans, Jr., 92, of Putnam, died Memorial Day, May 26, 2014 at home. He was born March 19, 1922 in Putnam, the son of Raymond R. and Anna (Mercier) Evans, Sr. He married his high school sweetheart Mary A. Lehrer on May 5, 1943. They celebrated nearly 60 years of marriage until her death on February 24, 2002.
Within a few weeks of being married Ray shipped overseas for the remainder of the war in Europe. He was a veteran of WWII serving with the 8th Army Air Force in the European Theatre. He received the following decorations and citations: EAME Theatre Campaign Ribbon with nine Battle Stars, Presidential Unit Citation, Good Conduct Medal, and was Honorably Discharged September 25, 1945. Ray was a member of the 389th Bombardment Group stationed near Norwich, England where he was part of the support crews for B-24 bombers.
In May of 2008, the American Warrior Flight Foundation took Ray and many other local veterans to Washington DC to visit the WWII Memorial. During retirement Ray enjoyed the visits of restored B-24 and B-17 bombers to local airports and in 2010 he had the opportunity through the Collings Foundation to fly on a B-24 from Connecticut to Rhode Island.
Upon returning to civilian life, he worked at General Phonograph, and did precision grinding, making cutting needles for recording the soundtrack in vinyl records. He was the Office Manager, Plant Manager and Vice President of Wellington Curtain Company for many years. Continuing a long tradition of printing in the Evans family, Ray, along with his wife Mary and son Kenneth, purchased in1978 the Observer Company and published the Windham County Observer/Putnam Patriot Newspaper.
At the age of 58, he took evening courses at Central Connecticut State University and obtained a Provisional Teaching Certificate. He established a Graphic Arts Program at Plainfield High School and later Putnam High School, teaching the craft of printing, photography, computer typesetting and journalism. Upon retiring from teaching, Mr. Evans was awarded Educator of The Year from the Student Council and was recognized by the Putnam High School Academic community for 18 years of service. He was also a member of the Putnam Board of Education. He was treasurer and served on the building committee for the present Putnam Elementary/Middle Schools.
Until the time of his death, Ray was an active member of High Pointe Church in Thompson, CT. He was also a fan of UCONN Sports and the Boston Red Sox.
He leaves his children, Kenneth Evans of Putnam, Jeffrey Evans of Putnam, Timothy Evans and his spouse Robert Quelch of Fresno, CA, Gregory Evans and his wife Patricia of Putnam, Deborah Guido and her husband Frank of Marco Island, FL, his beloved grandchildren, Rebecca Moussally and her spouse Phillip of Basking Ridge, NJ, Carolyn Guido-Traina and her spouse Michael of Warren, NJ, Brittany Evans of Putnam, Michael Evans of Putnam, three great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his sister-in-law Avis Sherman of Putnam
Calling Hours will be 6:00 to 8:00 PM Thursday, May 29, 2014, at the Smith and Walker Funeral Home, 148 Grove Street, Putnam. The Funeral Service will be 11:00 AM, Friday, May 30, 2014, at HighPointe Church, 1208 Thompson Road, Thompson followed by burial with Military Honors in Grove Street Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to HighPointe Church, 1208 Thompson Road, Thompson, CT 06277, or The Collings Foundation, PO Box 248, Stow, MA 01775, 1-800-568-8924. To share a memory with Ray's family, "Light a Candle" at www.smithandwalkerfh.com