Raymond Laurent Lapointe

July 24, 1925 - Oct. 11, 2010

Raymond Laurent Lapointe passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on Monday, Oct. 11, in Oakland, Calif. Ray was 85 years of age. Ray was born on July 24, 1925, in Rhode Island, the only child of Arthur and Donalda Lapointe. Ray served his country for over 23 years, wearing the uniform of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. He was a Navy Corpsman attached to the U.S. Marine Corps and received the Purple Heart for wounds sustained during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. After the war, Ray worked at the Red Cross Hospital in Tokyo, where he met Dr. Kiyoko Yoneda, a tuberculosis specialist and surgeon. They were married in Tokyo, and lived in Rhode Island, Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, Japan and Illinois before moving to their home in Vacaville, Calif. After retiring from the U.S. Air Force, Ray worked as a medical technician at the Vacaville Medical Facility for 20 years. Ray was a devoted husband and father, member of the Knights of Columbus and Veterans of Foreign Wars, and an avid dog lover. After losing his wife and suffering a stroke in 2007, Ray became a resident of Piedmont Gardens in Oakland.

Ray Lapointe was the oldest living member of the Lapointe family in the United States and Canada. He is survived by his three sons, Arthur of Powder Springs, Ga., Raymond Jr. of San Francisco and Jerome of Oakland; goddaughter, Setsuko Nakamura of Tokyo; six grandchildren, Phillip Lapointe of Stockton, Andrea Smith of Elk Grove, Brittany Strong of Stockton, Nicole and Matthew Lapointe of Oakland, and Jack Lapointe of Powder Springs; and two great-grandchildren, Logan and Riley Smith of Elk Grove. Ray was predeceased by his wife, Kiyoko, on Feb. 2, 2007.

A wake and visitation will be held at the Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland, on Monday, Oct. 18, from 5 to 9 p.m. A funeral mass will be celebrated at Saint Leo's Catholic Church, 176 Ridgeway Ave. (at Piedmont Avenue), Oakland, on Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 10 a.m., followed by burial at Mountain View Cemetery, 5000 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. Ray will be interred with full military honors.

Reception to be held in the Julia Morgan Reception Hall at Chapel of the Chimes following interment. More information available at www.lifemarkgroup.com. Donations can be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or to the ASCPA.