RAYMOND NOWAKOWSKI

Raymond A. Nowakowski Feb. 23, 1952 - June 26, 2012 Ray Nowakowski was a vibrant 60 years young and passed away while enjoying his passion - fishing. His fishing boat was discovered on the California Delta in San Joaquin County unattended on Tuesday, and his body was later recovered by a dive team. At this time, the cause of death has not been determined. Ray was born in Rochester, NY to Madie and Zennon (deceased). At age 15 he hitchhiked on a dare to California and fell in love with the West Coast. After a few months of gallivanting and living the California lifestyle, he negotiated his return with his parents based on no curfews and no rules! He flew back into dreary Rochester wondering if he had made a mistake. Ten years later at age 25, he moved back to the Golden State where he continued his profession as a car salesman at Harloff Cheverolet/BMW in San Diego where he was introduced to his BFF and love of his life Liz. Within 6 weeks they were engaged and 6 months later they were married. Their honeymoon was spent in Rochester and Niagara Falls where Liz met his family and 2 year old namesake Ray Jr. They eventually left the San Diego lifestyle and moved back to Rochester to be closer to Ray Jr. After a year of being an indentured servant to Piehler Pontiac in Rottenchester (as Ray would say), Ray and a pregnant Liz decided to move back to the "California dreamin" lifestyle. The two decided to move to the Bay Area to be closer to Liz's family and embraced their arrival of their first child together. Their son Ryan was born in January 1982 and by this time Ray had accepted the Sales Manager position at Golden Gate Cycles in San Francisco. By October of '83, he became co-owner of the business. Their 2 beautiful daughters, Kelli and Traci came along in '84 and '87 completing their family. Ray had recently been contacted by another son from his younger years, named Michael Moore and the two were to have had their first father/son moments in just a couple weeks. He was a figurehead in the powersports industry and was an ever-present member of the California Motorcycle Dealers Association. Ray was the President of Golden Gate Cycles, a since-closed multiline motorcycle dealership in San Francisco and was a driving force in the industry. Ray was a devoted and loving husband, father and friend, and an avid fisherman with an overall love for water. He supported the community by sponsoring baseball teams and his generosity was shared through the San Francisco Cherry Blossom Festival and B.E.S.T./PTO. He is remembered by all who know him as a sincere, honest, and a straight shootin' kind of man with an all around strong character. Ray's legacy is carried on by his mother Madie; BFF and wife Liz; his 5 children, Ray Jr (Kristen, son Charlie), Ryan (Mari, son Ryder), Kelli, Traci and Michael (Stacy, daughters Autumn and Kaitlyn); brothers Len (daughter Tricia), Gary (Connie, children Jim and Ashley), and Steven (Binh, sons Ben and Jon); nephews Victor and Jamal who he considered sons, and many other extended family members. Chapel service for Ray will be held on Thursday, July 5th at Skylawn Memorial Park (Highway 92 at Skyline Boulevard, P.O. Box 5070, San Mateo, CA 94402) at 11am with a short reception to follow. A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, July 6th at Mission Blue (Mission Blue Drive, Brisbane, CA 94005) from 3 to 6pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ray's honor to the B.E.S.T./PTO (P.O. Box 461, Brisbane, CA 94005 Attn: Save Our School District), California Motorcycle Dealer Association (P.O. Box 399, Lake Elsinore, CA 92531) or California Striped Bass Association (West Delta Chapter, PO Box 2691, Antioch, CA 94531). Thank you.