Raymond "Raymo" Kreydatus

Raymond "Raymo" Kreydatus

Raymond "Raymo" Kreydatus, age 89, born February 29, 1936, in Auburn N.Y. to the late Joseph Kreydatus and Helen Kritz, passed away at his home in Elmira, N.Y., surrounded by his family on Saturday, October 11, 2025. Raymond was predeceased by his wife of 52 years, Bernadette "Bea" (Rudzki) Kreydatus, and an infant son, Michael.

Raymond is survived by his loving children, Raymond, James (Melanie), Matthew (Beth) Kreydatus, Marianne (Jason) Wood; as well as grandchildren: Gabe, Elijah, Olivia, Andrew, May, and Gabriella. Raymond was a beloved father, grandfather, brother in-law and uncle with a gentle voice and an even gentler good nature.

Every year for their birthdays, Raymo treated all of his children and grandchildren to a beautiful and unabashed solo rendition of the "Happy Birthday" song, and it was truly a treat. He spread joy and love and made everyone feel welcome and a part of the family.

Raymo had a wealth of knowledge in so many areas such as relationships, parenting, bowling, music, old movies, musicals and sports trivia. Raymo had a passion for sports, and he tried, with varying degrees of success, to engage everyone he met in conversations about basketball, football, and baseball. He was an ardent lifelong fan of the Cleveland Indians, the Cleveland Browns, and the Syracuse Orange.

Raymo was a man of deep faith; he was a devoted Catholic and a long-time congregant at St. Casimir's Church, in Elmira, N.Y. He extended a gentle and loving welcome to everyone in his orbit. He was a cool, calm and nonjudgemental person. Raymo always put his family first.

Raymo was employed by the New York State Army National Guard for over 25 years and was an employee for the state of New York for nearly 20 years and was proud of his service.

The family will receive relatives and friends at St. Mary's Catholic Church at 224 Franklin St., Elmira, NY 14904 on Saturday, December 27th, from 9 to 9:50 a.m. followed by his Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. Interment will follow in Sts. Peter and Paul's Cemetery at 623 Franklin Street, Elmira, NY 14904. You may watch the Mass live on the parish website, Facebook page or their YouTube channel https://www.elmiracatholic.org/stream or later on Facebook or YouTube.

The family would like to thank all of his caregivers at Arnot Ogden Medical Center. Arrangements are entrusted to the Kalec Funeral Home, Elmira. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Raymo's honor to CareFirst NY, 3805 Meads Creek Road, Painted Post, NY 14870 or at https://carefirstny.org/donate.

Kalec Funeral Home

705 E Church Sreet ~ Elmira, NY 14901 ~ (607) 734-6196