Raymond Carl L'Amoreaux

Raymond Carl L'Amoreaux
November 11th, 1918 - May 13th, 2011

*photo taken in Kauai in June 2010
A Note From His Daughters
Our Dad passed away peacefully and surrounded in love. He was active and of vibrant mind until
one week before he passed. He taught us to live a life you love. He lead by example and treated our mother with love, respect and tender loving care. Our dad loved his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren dearly. Through his death he taught us how precious life is and to see the beauty and joy present during sad and difficult times. We love him so much. We are forever grateful to have had such a loving and inspirational father. We will miss him every day.

We thank all of you for your kindness, support and love for our father.

Obituary of Raymond Carl L’Amoreaux
November 11, 1918 – May 13, 2011

Ray was born on November 11, 1918 in Hillsdale, Michigan. On that day, the first Armistice was celebrated, ending World War I. The peace treaty was signed in France at 11 a.m. (6 a.m. EST) and Ray was born 20 minutes later. Ray’s mother told the story of Ray’s birth many times during her long life. She said that the doctor came to their home on Sunday night to deliver Ray. He came up to the house on the walk, smoking his cigar. He placed it on the porch railing and went inside to check on her. He decided that she wasn’t ready to deliver her first child, so he decided to stay all night-sleeping on the davenport. Then, at 6:20 Monday morning, he delivered an eight-pound boy!

Ray graduated from Berea (Ohio) high school, class of ’36. He went one year to Baldwin Wallace College – also in Berea. His family moved to Ypsilanti in July 1937.

Ray enlisted in the Army Air Corps on March 28, 1941 in Detroit. He graduated from the Aviation Mechanics’ School at Scott Field. He was assigned to Gunter Field at Montgomery, Alabama, where he was a crew chief on a Vultee BT-13. From Gunter Field he was assigned to Maxwell Field – still in Montgomery, to the Aviation Cadet program. He went through bombardier training at Victorville. Ray received his bombardier wings, and his 2^nd Lt. Commission, on October 31, 1942.

He went on to fly 50 combat missions in B-17’s with the 2^ndBomb Group – part of General Jimmy Doolittle’s Twelfth Air Force, in North Africa. Ray was assigned to the Fifth Air Force and served in the Southeast Asian campaign, flying B-25’s. Later, in 1998, Ray was presented with the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) at Travis Air Force Base, California, for his acts of extraordinary achievement.

After serving in World War II Ray returned to college under the G.I. Bill. He spent one year at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, and then transferred to Cal – Berkeley. He graduated with a B.S. degree in February 1949.

Ray’s first job, after college, was as an industrial engineer with U.S. Steel in Pittsburg. In the spring of 1951 he was recalled to active duty by the Air Force and served during the Korean War. He was stationed at Mather Field, Sacramento, and piloted Convair T-29’s used to train B-47 pilots in radar bombardiering and radar navigation.

He returned to Columbia Steel, after his separation from the Air Force, in 1953. In 1958C. Brewer hired him as Olokele Sugar Company’s first industrial engineer. Marie and Ray, and three daughters, left San Francisco for Honolulu, on January 15, 1958, on a United Airlines DC-6.

Their Hawaii experience was interesting - historically. They arrived when the islands were still a Territory of the U.S. A year later, it became our 50^th State! Two of their five daughters, Joan and Sue, were born in the Waimea hospital on Kauai. The family moved back to the mainland in September 1962, finally settling in Vallejo.

Ray started work as a Methods Engineer for California & Hawaiian Sugar Company, in Crockett. In 1969, he was promoted to work in the San Francisco corporate office. He retired as the Manager of Internal Auditing in 1983, after having worked in the sugar industry for 25 years.

During his working years, Ray was very active in the organizations of his professions. He was president of both the San Francisco-Oakland Chapters of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, and of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, and of the Institute of Internal Auditors. He was certified in both disciplines, and was licensed by the State of California as a professional Industrial Engineer.

Ray had many interests during his lengthy retirement. Marie and Ray traveled extensively – visiting nearly every state, enjoying visiting the Presidents’ Homes and Libraries, and other points of interest. Their travels also involved six trips to Europe. In his 90’s, Ray made several travel trips. In 2009 he traveled to San Diego for his oldest granddaughter’s wedding and then on a bus tour across the United States to see Mt. Rushmore. In June 2010, Ray traveled to Kauai, Hawaii with his daughters and in October 2010 he rode the train to New Orleans.

Ray enjoyed learning new things and audited classes on “Successful Aging” at Cal-Berkeley for many years. He also attended numerous baseball games as a season ticket holder for the Oakland Athletics.

He enjoyed the new experiences of volunteer work and served on many Boards and Committees during his retirement: Solano Ombudsman, Board of Directors; St Dominic’s Church, Finance Committee; Napa/Solano Area Agency on Aging, Advisory Council; City of Vallejo Citizens Budget Advisory Committee; Commission on Aging; Executive Board, Vallejo Senior Citizens’ Council; Solano County Grand Jury.

In 2008 Ray and his wife Marie moved from Vallejo to Paradise Valley Estates in Fairfield to be closer to their family and last year Ray moved to the Veteran’s Home in Yountville.

The family mourns their great loss – his wife of 66 years Marie; daughters Anne Maher, Mary (Greg) Torres, Beth (Jack) Abercrombie, Joan (Manny) Morais, and Susan (Tom) Chilson, grandchildren Doug Maher, Brad (Kristin) Maher, Daniel & Jason Torres, Jessica Nguyen, Jaclyn Abercrombie, Melissa Morais Parr, Michelle & Brittney Morais, Kaitlyn Chilson, and seven great-grandchildren; Jobey Maher, Bailey Maher, Dakota Maher, Colton Maher and Trenton Maher.

* * *

Ray's Legacy

Ray was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and friend. He enjoyed life very much, because of his love of people and his relationship to them.

He was thoughtful of others and unselfish. He would send cards, small gifts, and newspaper clippings to many of his family, friends, and acquaintances. He once said that he never read an article, whether it be in a magazine, or a newspaper, in which he didn't recall a person related to an interest in that subject matter. He usually would then clip- or copy, the article and send it to that person.

Ray had a great sense of humor- thanks to his mother and her Irish background. He was also quick-tempered, which he blamed on his French ancestry. While he was aware of these faults, and worked at overcoming them, he did not succeed.

Ray's dad worked for the New York Central Railroad for over 40 years. Ray followed in his dad's footsteps, and rode the trains for thousands of miles- usually on his dad's NYC Pass.

Consequently, Ray had always liked trains, and their many sounds. When he heard the train's diesel horn, coming from the Crockett and Martinez area, he had the urge to ride on the train once again. Ray caught the night train on May 13th, 2011 at the great age of 92.

Ray was ready to die. He crowded a lot of different activities in his 92 years and was very thankful for all those years of life.

After death he wanted a celebration of his life- with a party- rather than dwell on a morbid funeral.

He liked music very much- especially that of the 30's and 40's. Ray's dad was a musician- playing both the violin and E-flat alto horn (a tone similar to a French horn). Ray played this same instrument (his dad's) in his Berea high school band.

"As you live each day you are "writing" the story of your life!" RCL 2/3/06

* * *

RAY’S EULOGY

Delivered by his daughter, Mary Torres, at Ray's Funeral Mass.

Thank you all for being here today to honor my dad. As many of you know my dad was a planner and always wanted to be prepared for any situation. So it is no surprise that he prepared his last days and death by putting everything in writing-including his own eulogy-in a manual titled "Ray's Final Exit". Being my father's daughter I have also added my "two cents" into this final tribute.

My dad was one of a kind. When God made him He forgot the blueprint. Dad's Irish and French heritage was quite a combination-which he attributed to his humor, occasional display of a temper, and stubborn streak.

Dad tried to do his best, and he urged each of his daughters to do the same. He was inquisitive and always interested in others life stories. Dad walked the walk of “treating others as you would want to be treated”.

He was a collector & saver -from empty boxes to photos, and newspaper and magazine articles - a result of being a young boy growing up during the 1930’s and the Great Depression.

Dad was thoughtful of others – usually remembering birthdays (he got this from my Grandma L’Amoreaux), and anniversaries – get well and sympathy cards – or even “I’m Thinking of You” cards.

He also was known for sending Wall Street Journal articles, to people that he knew who shared the interest of the clipping.

Dad enjoyed his family very much and cherished the time spent together on our many get-togethers. Whether it was a picnic at Sonoma’s City Park, an A’s game, camping trips, Christmas Eve’s (he played a good Santa Claus too), Thanksgivings, and family birthday gatherings. Dad was also a regular attendee at the grandkids various sporting events and school functions.

He and my mom liked to travel and when he retired they hit the road. Dad filled many photo albums with pictures, post cards and other memorabilla from all of their many trips - including visiting Europe six times!

Dad was an avid sports fan. He used to play golf and bowl and even took up bocce ball when he moved to Fairfield. He was also a sports spectator attending many baseball games as a season ticket holder for the Oakland Athletics.

Dad taught us so much about how to live. He was a student of life – always wanting to learn something new, including attending classes at Cal-Berkeley, during his retirement years and graduating from the UC Davis Mini Medical School at the age of 90.

He was a traveler, writer, and a nature lover. On his trip in 2009 to Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Nebraska and some of the National Parks he wrote:

"I was in such awe of the quiet, peaceful, and natural beauty of this great land of ours! In the big scheme of things, I felt so humble and insignificant. The scenery was most inspirational. How can one view such splendor and not comprehend a Supreme Being?"

Dad’s favorite poet, Edgar Guest, was also a native Michigan Wolverine. The following is one of Edgar’s poems, which he especially liked and asked to be read at his memorial service.

"I'd like to think when life is done that I had filled a needed post;

That here and there I'd paid my fare with more than idle talk and boast;

That I had taken gifts divine, the breath of life and manhood fine; and tried to use

them now and then in service for my fellow man."

I know that dad is watching over us. He is busy with the new tasks at hand and reviewing the policies & procedures manual that was given to him at the pearly gates. We will miss him, and are better human beings for having known him. Farewell dad! You will live in our hearts forever.

* * *

Galoshes

GALOSHES, OR OVERSHOES.
Today, I am in the mood to blog. What motivates me is Barry Newman’s excellent column in today’s (Thursday, March 3, 2011) Wall Street Journal - “The Time May be Right For Galoshes To Make A Splash Again.”
His write-up brought back many memories of my experience with galoshes/overshoes, over 80 years ago. Putting them on, and taking them off, were not a problem. We took them for granted - they were part of our outdoor- winter “uniform”.
Barry did a good job describing this necessity of the past winters of long ago. I will only quibble with the article’s photographs. Those foot coverings aren’t galoshes - they are rubbers. Galoshes came half way up the calf, and fancier. They were easy to put on (unless they weren’t the right size - too small.). At the time, I was young enough to still wear knickers. But the older kids and men, would tuck their trouser cuffs inside the overshoe before they would fasten them up. The fasteners were very functional. There were four or five snap-over buckles, which were easy to close with cold hands. They not only kept my feet warm. But also dry. The ‘shoes’ were also thinly lined, which made them warmer.
We didn’t have a car back in those days, so my Mom and Dad did a lot of walking. They always wore the foot covering when going outside in the winter. They didn’t care about “looks”. Comfort always trumped style, We had lots of them, sitting on the floor, in the small room inside the back door, where our family of six stored all of our outside clothing. It is a wonder that we could tell them apart.
Today, you can’t get people to abandon their cars - even in winter - when driving on snow and ice is a real challenge and a hazard. So, I question whether the galosh/overshoe foot covering in winter will make a comeback. I am sure if you tried them for the first time you would be sold on the footwear!
Congratulations, Barry, on your interesting and informative column.
RCL - 3/3/11.

From Peaceful to Violent Streets

From Peaceful to Violent Streets.
I was fortunate to have been stationed in North Africa for about seven months in 1943.
Our 2nd Bomb Group was en-route to join the 8th air Force in England during March of 1943, as replacement crews. We flew our new B-17 over to North Africa, using the South-Atlantic route - West Palm Beach, Trinidad, Belem, Natal, Ascension Island, Dakar, and then up to Marrakech, Morocco. While in Marrakech, Field Marshall Rommel (who headed up the German Afrika Corps) broke through General Montgomery’s Eighth Army’s position and forced them to retreat at Kasserine Pass. The “powers that be” changed our orders, and assigned us to the African front. We were part of General Jimmy Doolittle’s Twelfth Air Force. The Group remained in Africa until after the invasion of Italy in September 1943.
During this time, when we weren’t flying missions, we had leisure time to “swim” in the Mediterranean sea, or visit the very interesting cities in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. I also got to spend a week on R & R in Cairo. While playing “tourist”, I was very observant of the large crowds in the bazaars and waking peacefully on the streets of Tunis. The people in Tunis, either spoke Arabic or French, which was very interesting to me. The French influence came in 1881 when France became their protectorate. Tunisia became an independent state in 1956. The British invaded Egypt in 1882, and they became an independent country in 1922.
This experience has motivated me to follow foreign affairs in the Middle East - primarily on the Lehrer/PBS News Hour and the Wall Street Journal. Based on my experiences nearly 70 years ago, I was very surprised, and saddened, by the recent news of the violent protests in the streets of Tunis and Cairo. This didn’t reflect my pleasant experiences of the time when I walked those very same streets and felt safe and secure.
In Tunis, Ray Bernier - our navigator; a fellow bombardier - “Red Bird”, and Bob Wolfcale, a navigator, would jump in a jeep and travel about 20 miles to Tunis. While there, we would usually go to mass at the St. Vincent de Paul Cathedral. We also visited the Cathedral in nearby Carthage, after a swim.
We visited the Red Cross Club for servicemen, where we could get doughnuts and ice cream. Near the Cathedral in Tunis, was a very nice hotel with a huge porch, I think it was the Hotel Tunis. We would sit in the large wicker - rocking chairs, sipping our cool drinks, and “people watch.” (I suppose that a new hotel sits on the spot today.)
The “powers that be” thought a few us were getting “flak happy” from flying so many combat missions. Our Flight Surgeon suggested that we be given an R&R leave to Cairo. I was fortunate to be one of the chosen group. They let us use a “stripped down” B-17, and we flew from Tunis to Cairo and back - an 8-9 hour flight each way.
We stayed at a B & B in Heliopolis - a suburb of Cairo. The city of Cairo is known for it’s large crowds, and beautiful architecture. I can attest to that! I particularly enjoyed visiting the Bazaar, and even went inside a very beautiful mosque. I bought a few souvenirs in the Bazaar. The merchants liked to bargain, and haggle over the final price. I must have disappointed them, because I didn’t have this skill, and consequently, probably paid more than full price.

We visited the Shepeard Hotel near the American Embassy. It was a five star at the time.

Back to today. It saddens me when I compare my pleasant experiences, nearly 70 years ago, in Tunis and Cairo, with the turmoil in the streets there today - justified or not.

RCL - 1/31/11.