Raymond F. Cronauer

WILKES-BARRE — Raymond F. Cronauer, 92, of Wilkes-Barre, passed away on Thursday, July 18, 2019, at his home.

He was born in Wilkes-Barre, a son of the late Clarence and Mildred Miller Cronauer. Ray was a 1945 graduate of St. Nicholas High School in Wilkes-Barre. He formerly owned and operated Clarence B. Cronauer and Son Electric. Ray served as the chairman of the Examiners Board for Electricians for the City of Wilkes-Barre and as a member of the board of directors of the National Electrical Contractors Association.

Ray was a member of St. Nicholas Church, Wilkes-Barre. He was a member of St. Therese's Church in Wilkes-Barre prior to its closing, where he served as chairman of the Finance Committee. He also served as chairman of the board of directors for the CYC in Wilkes-Barre. Ray was a member of the Knights of Columbus Council #302 and a 4th Degree member of the Bishop William J. Haffey Assembly. He was a member of the Catholic Knights of St. George, Branch #75 and he was a former director and member for 58 years of the Catholic Laymen's Retreat League.

Ray loved music and was a member of The Big Band Society. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Nancy Basler Cronauer, in 1995 and by his second wife, Mary Ellen McCabe Woods Cronauer, in 2019. He was also preceded in death by his brothers, Clarence and Robert Cronauer; brothers-in-law Claude, Joseph and Matthew Basler; sister-in-law Marion Basler; and stepdaughter-in-law Sandy Woods and stepson-in-law Neil Wolsieffer.

Surviving are his children, Judith Belles, of Duryea, Raymond F. Cronauer Jr., of Naples, Fla., Barbara Krieger and her husband, Rob, of Palm Coast, Fla., Rick Cronauer and his wife, Lynne, of Wilkes-Barre, Daniel Cronauer and his wife, Michelle, of Mountain Top, Karen Pavlichko, of Dallas, Maury Steinkirchner and her husband, Michael, of Langhorne, and Nancy Hooper and her husband, Brian, of Ocean Pines, Md.; sister Mary DeLong and her husband, John, of Center Valley; stepchildren Mary Beth Kenny and her husband, Tom, of Charlestown, Md., Nancy Atherton and her husband, James, of Mountain Top, Raymond Woods and his wife, Gina, of Lewisberry, Sharon Lavan and her husband, Brian, of Wilkes-Barre, and Dr. Michael Woods and his wife, Mary Jo, of Longmeadow, Mass.; 27 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday in St. Nicholas Church, 226 S. Washington St., Wilkes-Barre. Interment will be in St. Mary's Cemetery, Hanover Township. Family and friends may call from 8:30 to 10 a.m. on Monday at the church.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the St. Vincent De Paul Kitchen, 39 E. Jackson St., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701; the Wilkes-Barre CYC, 36 S. Washington St., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701; or St. Nicholas Church, 226 S. Washington St., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701.

Online condolences may be sent by visiting Raymond's obituary at www.natandgawlas.com. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the Nat & Gawlas Funeral Home, 89 Park Ave., Wilkes-Barre.