Raymond Carl JOSEPHSON

JOSEPHSON, Raymond Carl Raymond Carl Josephson, husband, father, father-in-law, grandfather, son, brother, uncle, friend, veteran, environmentalist, bird lover, fisherman, weather forecaster, list maker, file keeper, animal lover, athlete and sports fan, patriot - died September 25, 2010 at John Dempsey Hospital after a massive stroke in the early morning hours of his 92nd birthday. Raymond was born September 14, 1918 in Farmington, CT to Agnes (Nelson) and Carl Josephson. He graduated from Farmington High School in 1937. After a few years of employment with the Aetna Insurance Company, his life took a dramatic change with the Pearl Harbor attack and his country's entry into World War II. His interest in skiing and outdoor living directed his choice of military enrollment to the ski troops, but a temporary suspension in recruitment caused Raymond to have to begin his active duty in the Air Force. On August 14, 1942, Ray joined the 340th Fighter Squadron in Rhode Island. Finally with the resuming of ski troop recruitment, and with his three letters of recommendation, a transfer was made effective to the 87th Mountain Regiment at Camp Hale, Colorado. Thus began his lifelong commitment and devotion to one of the most profound and meaningful associations of Ray's long life. The 87th Mountain Regiment was transported to the Aleutians and made an attack landing on Kiska Island which had been occupied by the Japanese. Tragically, the US troops were unaware that the Japanese had left in the quiet of the night so the attack was made on allies who had landed on the opposite side of the island. Ray always shared this story with an extremely heavy heart. After a return to the US base, the Mountain troops were on their way to Italy. Ray was acting operations sergeant in battalion plans through the North Apennine and Po Valley Campaigns and was reconnaissance sergeant for the group out of company headquarters. The 10th pushed through to Mount Belvedere and Riva Ridge and continued on to victory, albeit with huge losses along the way. Ray returned to the US and separated from active service on November 8, 1945. On return to civilian life, Ray attended the University of CT on the G.I. Bill. He had gotten a taste of the beauty of Alaska on the Kiska campaign and had a dream of returning to Alaska for environmental work enhanced by majoring in wildlife management. However, his plans changed when he met Eleanor (Korki) Strom on campus and married her on October 4, 1952. He then changed his focus by attending the Hartford Technical School and studying surveying and civil engineering, and qualifying himself for a State Merit Exam. He secured a position with the CT State Department of Transportation working at various times in District 1 plans and surveys, traffic control, fatal accident investigation and more. In April 1957, Ray began the longest and biggest project of his life - construction of his house on an acre of land on Valley View Drive. A large female tiger cat moved into the house under construction and in May, 1960 gave birth to five kittens, all of whom Ray kept as wonderful pets. One by one they passed away - the last disappearing in June 1977 at 17 years of age. Since then there have been many important animals in Ray's life including - dogs, cats, chickens, gerbils, guinea pigs, and rabbits. The most recent is a large black cat named Sollie whom Ray has carefully guarded on his visits outdoors. Ray's own family grew in 1963 with one daughter, followed by a second daughter in 1966. Ray was incredibly active and involved with his daughters' lives and activities, and it was a huge source of pleasure for him. Over the years he has also been extremely active in a number of service organizations including the American Legion, where he was an avid supporter of the baseball team among other things, the VFW, where he was a service officer who dutifully flagged graves of veterans, placed flags for town parades and performed many other supportive duties. Ray also loved birds and diligently worked on blue bird, wood duck, and purple martin houses for Winding Trails. Another of his greatest associations was with his beloved Grace Congregational Church. He has been a trustee and an active member for many years and oversaw the maintenance of the church property with great care. One of his greatest concerns was about the grading and landscaping around the building which he was finally able to see corrected to allow for appropriate water run-off, much to his satisfaction. Ray also loved his weekly "meetings" at Apricot's Pub in Farmington and the friends he made there. With an ever rotating cast of buddies, many of whom passed away over the years, there was always a warm spot at the bar for Raymond. Ray was pre-deceased by his beloved sister Beatrice (Josephson) Person, and his brothers-in-law Bernard Person and John Edwin Strom. He is survived by his wife, (Korki) Eleanor, his daughter Ruth Norrby of California and her husband Patrik, and his other daughter Carla Josephson of NYC and her husband and daughter David and Alden Powers. Also surviving are his sister-in-law Elizabeth Strom, his niece, Laura Wearne and her husband Bruce, all of New Hartford, his nephew Jeffrey Strom and his wife Sharon, of Avon, and his nephew Dennis Person of Farmington. Friends and family may call at The Ahern Funeral Home, 111 Main Street, Rt. 4, Unionville on Thursday (Sept. 30) from 4 - 7 p.m. Funeral services will be Friday (Oct. 1) at 10:30 a.m. in Grace Congregational Church, Farmington with Rev. Dr. Karen L. Roy officiating. Burial with full military honors will be in Riverside Cemetery, Farmington. Memorial contributions may be made to the Grace Congregational Church, 110 South Road, Farmington, CT 06032.